LAMENTATIONS TRAIL POOR WASTE MANAGEMENT IN BENUE STATE
Waste dump
Denen Daniel
Residents of Makurdi, the capital of Benue state decry the methods adopted by the government- owned Benue State Sanitation and Environment Agency (BENSESA) and other privately operated waste managing firms domicile in the capital towards waste management. These bitter experiences and lamentations are arriving on the heels of the recent decision by BENSESA to remove all receptacles previously placed at strategic positions to ensure proper disposal of wastes at the designated places.
In place of these hitherto used public containers, residents are advised by the new decision to acquire polythene bags into which the waste will be packaged and dispose appropriately. With this new measure in place, a resident of Demekpe, Toryima Gabriel said “when the containers were placed at such strategic points it made it easier for residents to dispose wastes. Since the decision of BENSESA to recall these containers from such points, managing of refuse has become a major problem for residents. Due to lack of decision of what to do with the wastes, many homes choose to steal at night and empty the wastes wherever they find opportunity; making the town littered badly with wastes of all kinds.”
Okolo Nwangbuna said the town has never enjoyed any best practice of refuse management, however, since the introduction of the new measures by the refuse management agency, the situation has grown poorer. “What is happening in the state capital in terms of refuse collection and disposal is not good. At least, people abused the use of the litter/waste bins, but some used them correctly.” Okolo noted that since the introduction of the new strategy, the Agency failed to come to collect refuse or deliberately chose few places to carry out the waste collection.
Simon Shima another Makurdi resident stated that the situation is not pleasant, as he uses his car to dispose waste at the outskirt of the town, stating that those who do not have the luxury of a car to aid them in disposing wastes have no choice than to dispose it wherever they want. In his words, “although it is not healthy for the environment and not right for residents to dump refuse indiscriminately on the streets. This causes air pollution that could result to an epidemic?”
An employer of the state owned BENSESA who spoke on the ground of anonymity states that they have enforced the Benue State Sanitation Law and will arrest anyone who flaunt them. The Sanitation Officer maintained that the agency covers the whole town and not a selected part. He adds that they removed most of the public waste bins due to health hazards posed by the dumping of medical wastes by hospitals at spots meant for domestic wastes. “We have still maintained some waste bins at enclosed spaces where they cannot be tampered with by the secret dumping of medical waste.”
He stressed that they are resolute in going round the metropolis for monitoring and disposing wastes neatly packed in polythene disposal bags.
However, aside from the government tackling the menace of waste in the city, residents have not help the situation either. It is sad that most residents have no regard for sanitation laws, as they engage in indiscriminate dumping of refuse even at odd places. Some residents cannot do as little as clear the gutter in front of their houses to enhance a clean environment. Even in places where there are waste bins, some prefer dumping their wastes indiscriminately.
Recently, BENSESA issued a public notice condemning the act of dumping wastes at the wrong places. The statement was emphatic that anyone caught will face the full wrath of the sanitation law of the state. However, waste management in a city with a large population cannot be handled with kid gloves. The government needs to adopt new strategies to manage the increasing waste generated in Makurdi in order to curtail the many ills the indiscriminate disposal causes. However, the agency also requested for more personnel and logistics to achieve its target.
In the face of advanced technologies, there is an urgent need for the government and the private sector to collaborate in a partnership that would help reposition Benue waste management system to conform with international best practices. Waste can even be recycled and this will give room for employment generation.
Residents must also change their attitudes towards the environment. There is need to sustain the tempo recently adopted by the Senior Special Assistant to the Benue State Governor on Public Utilities, Environment and Sanitation in the cleanup of the town drainage channels as another way of doing away with littered wastes.
An environmentalist, Torngee Due said it is “unacceptable that Makurdi has no designated official waste dump site not to talk of landfill. There is need to have at least four dump sites for Makurdi. So to say, a dump site ought to be sited along Makurdi-Lafia Road, Makurdi-Gboko Road, Makurdi-Otukpo Road and Makurdi-Naka Road to attend to the ever growing population of the cosmopolitan environment.”
All hands must come together to make the environment a better place for humanity. It is already a cliché that ‘cleanliness is next to godliness.’ Both the environment and the body must be kept clean for enhanced hygiene which creates longevity.
