Environment
MR Akpabio Essien, President, Waste Management Society of Nigeria, (WAMASON) has urged government to provide cheap loans for investors in domestic sewage waste management in the country.
Essien made the request on Saturday in Port Harcourt while addressing newsmen as part of the programmes to mark the 2021 World Environment Day.
According to him, the theme for the year” Restoring the Ecosystem ” was significant because the ecosystem was the macro unit that accommodates various species that make the earth suitable for living.
Essien said that waste management played an integral part in restoring the ecosystem, which in turn boosted human health and life expectancy.
“I’m not aware of any public sewage plant where private waste managers can dispose sewage for proper treatment and management here in Rivers.
“We need to step up advocacy on proper waste management to enable households contribute to achieving a clean society,” he said.
The WAMASON head urged government to include waste management principles in schools’ curricular activities and encourage schools to create waste management clubs to ensure proper awareness among them.
Essien who is also a waste management expert, noted that domestic waste was the most common type of waste which had attracted so much concern from private waste managers.
“The reason is because waste management in corporate companies are regulated by government authorities; as such, they dispose their waste properly, while domestic waste are usually disposed in open dump sites.
“This is hazardous to human health and the ecosystem. I urge households to try as much as possible to minimize domestic waste generated on daily basis by curbing the habit of food wastages.
“Nigerian households tend to prepare more than they could possibly consume, thereby, having so many leftovers, which also add to the increase in domestic waste,” he added.
Also speaking, Mr Benson Abu, national Public Relations Officer of the body, expressed worry over lack of public sewage treatment plants, in the state and the south-south region.
” For now, private sewage managers pay to the government to dispose sewage at approved dump sites,” Abu said. (NAN)
June 5, 2021 @ 19:59 GMT
Tags: WAMASON advocates proper waste management in Rivers.
