The Imo State government says it has put materials in motion kto end indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the state.
The state commissioner for environment, Dr. Iyke Njoku, who addressed journalists at the state Secretariat, Owerri, said the reason the state is experiencing indiscriminate dumping of wastes is because government alone pays for the waste the people of the state generate.
Njoku said the need to put an end to indiscriminate dumping of wastes resulted in the promulgation of the law to establish the Imo State Waste Management Agency by Governor Hope Uzodimma
He noted that it was an obvious fact that waste management is not an issue that should be left for the state government alone to manage, saying that with the new agency coming into effect, private partnership would be brought in to be part of waste management in the state.
He noted that with the new law in place, indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the State and its evacuation would be a thing of the past as the offenders will be liable to heavy fines.
While stating that waste management would soon become a big business in the state, the commissioner added, “our waste will be converted into wealth and government will recycle the waste for the purpose of wealth creation”.
Njoku further added that the new policy would not only ensure environmental cleanliness in the state, but create employment and aid in revenue generation.
The commissioner used the opportunity to advise citizens and residents of the state to help sustain and conserve the environment through planting of trees and also reduce wastage for their benefit.
Njoku emphasized the need for positive attitude towards conservation and to have environmental consideration on everything because every human activity impacted on natural resources and the environment.
The commissioner said the importance of trees to man cannot be overemphasized, saying if the about six million people in the state plant one tree each, the state would be the best for it.
He urged residents to protect the environment in their little way by planting trees around them, stressing that environmental protection was not restricted to government alone but for all citizens to be involved.
The Nation
