Environment
MATILDA Taiwo, Managing Director, Goodware Stitches Ltd., has urged the Federal Government to explore the opportunities in waste to wealth initiatives to increase its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
Taiwo made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday.
She said that it was imperative for the country to not only recover its waste but transform them through processing into finished products that would meet international standards and export them.
According to her, this will boost the country’s Foreign Exchange earnings, create jobs, enhance the competency of the youth and improve the welfare of citizens.
‘’The waste and recycling industry is worth billions of naira and government should explore it to boost its IGR, especially now that we are complaining of shortfalls of funds in the economy.
‘’It is not gathering the waste for exports because if we do that, the other countries would transform the waste into finished goods and sell them back to us at high costs.
‘’The United Nations identified over 100 products that can be reproduced from just waste bags, not to talk about other recyclable items.
‘’We generate large volume of waste in the country and we can explore the opportunities of turning them into economic gain,’’ Taiwo said.
According to her, some countries have been able to develop innovative and forward-thinking ways of managing their waste and creating value out of it.
“I believe the time is right for Nigeria to do the same,’’ she said.
Taiwo advised relevant bodies to organise seminars and workshops to sensitise the public on the opportunities in the recycling sector.
She urged the government to encourage like-minded people to form cooperative and establish recycling outfits at micro and macro levels.
NAN reports that Waste Management Society of Nigeria (WAMASON) estimates that nearly 65 million tonnes of waste are generated in Nigeria yearly with Lagos alone generating about 13 million tonnes of waste.
-NAN
BE
– Aug. 6, 2019 @ 13:09 GMT |
Tags: Recyclist tasks govt on growth of IGR through waste processing
