By Aliyu DANLADI
Former Chairman, Nigerian Environmental Society, Lagos Island Chapter (NESLIC), Mr John Ekoko on Thursday urged Lagos Governor-elect, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu to overhaul waste collection and disposal system.
Sanwo-Olu is due to take over the mantle of leadership from Mr Akinwumi Ambode on May 29.
TBI Africa said Ekoko gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
According to him, once sustainable waste collection and disposal is created, almost 50 per cent of the environmental issues in Lagos will be solved.
”Waste is at the centre of major environmental problems in Lagos state.
”So, environmentalists expect that Lagos State under Sanwo-Olu should be cleaned up.
”He should explore the contents of Waste-to-Wealth technology as it is a labour intensive project, to drive employment.
”Many people can be engaged and all that will be needed is to segregate the waste from households and areas where waste are generated.
”This will ensure that each group of waste, such as rubber, plastics, electronics, food materials, nylons, paper wrappers and nylon wrappers are disposed off separately.
”This way, each group of waste is collected and taken straight to recycling plants instead of dump sites or landfills,” he said.
Ekoko said that about eight million tonnes of waste were generated daily in Lagos.
”These are silent gold that if perfectly harnessed, can create many jobs and provide wealth to many people,” he said.
He said that Lagos did not need VisionScape anymore, noting that the programme recorded monumental failure in the management of waste in the state.
According to Ekoko, once waste is taken off Lagos roads and streets, the blocked drainage and channels will be a thing of the past.
He said drainage channels had been blocked with plastic containers and disposable plates that one would not know that there was water underneath.
The former Chairman said that right from collection centres, biodegradable waste could be taken to recycling plants, adding that it was useful in making fertiliser and generating electricity.
He said plastic waste could also be moved from collection centres, straight to recycling plants that turned it into raw materials for other manufacturing firms.
Ekoko said that dump sites and landfills were no more fashionable.
