Developing countries are in a quandary over the management of disposable items. Often, items such as nylon, foil, plastics are left to litter the physical environment. In an apparent bid to check the menace, the Lagos State government in Nigeria plans to establish plastic collection centers in the 57 local council areas of the state.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on the Cleaner Lagos Initiative, Adebola Shabi, who stated this at Ikeja, said when established, youths would be encouraged to bring plastic items to the centers. They would get some money in return, while the plastics will be sold to the public for recycling purposes.
Mr. Ashabi said this was in tune with the theme of the World Earth Day this year that centered on plastic pollution, which he described, as the bane of the state now. He assured Lagosians that with the renewed collaboration between the state government, waste collection operators and the company, Visionscape, heaps of refuse would disappear from Lagos streets in a matter of days.
According to Mr. Ashabi, concerted efforts of the stakeholders will lead to an imminent total evacuation of waste from the streets. In his words, “We have been engaging different stakeholders, the waste collection operators, the community development committees, the market women, the civil societies, landlords and tenants’ associations and various NGOs in the state to assess how we have performed in the last one year”.
The Special Adviser explained further, “There are still ongoing discussions with the waste collection operators, the former PSP operators and the state government, in conjunction with Visionscape to have as many Transfer Loading Stations, to ease the disposal of waste in the state.”
