By Shile GIWA
An environmentalist, Mr John Ekoko, on Thursday advised the Lagos State Government to establish bio-mass plants in major markets in the state for electricity generation.
TBI Africa said Ekoko, a former Chairman of the Nigerian Environmental Society, Lagos Island Chapter, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
According to him, waste generated in the markets is enough to service bio-mass plants and produce energy to provide electricity to surrounding communities.
“The plants do not have to be gigantic ones; there are micro plants available that can give the same service.
“The project too, does not have to be government-driven.
“The private sector can champion it; but it needs government to provide the desired environment for it to work,” he said.
Ekoko said that there was enough agricultural waste in markets to be used for bio-gas production to generate electricity.
“Some of those markets serve as farmers’ markets.
“This means that after harvest, farmers send their produce to those markets for sale. Going round the markets, you can see rotten produce littering.
“Some traders even buy some of them for quick sell at the retail level to make quick money at the expense of unsuspecting buyers’ health.
“Plants can be sited close to those markets to generate gas and electricity,” he said.
Ekoko said that since the plants would be located at the source of raw materials, the final products would be cheaper.
The environmentalist said that the establishment would provide jobs for many youths as they would earn money by taking waste from the markets to the nearby plants.
According to him, this way, the markets will be kept clean, as less agricultural waste would be littered.
