Some traders in Ilorin have called on the state government to intervene to ensure effective waste management for a safe environment in the community.
Some of the traders, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin on Monday, said that it was time the government provided a dependable and lasting solution to waste management.
A miller, who simply identified herself as Aduke said that it was difficult for her to adapt to the withdrawal of waste collector in her environment, adding that they were now forced to throw wastes into flowing waters channels.
“I grind pepper, yam flour and a lot of things and before now, there is this big waste collector placed at different locations but now they have been taken away.
“We do not find it convenient disposing waste anymore, sometimes we are forced to throw wastes in flowing waters ways over the bridge.
“We know it is not right, especially during this season that flooding is common, but we do not have a choice because we cannot sleep with our wastes.
“We want this administration to do something about the matter, it is important to ensure a healthy living,” she said.
Mrs Augustina Igwe, who has a mini restaurant said “honestly without a proper and reliable waste management system, everybody is at risk of diseases and other environmental hazards like flooding.
“I sell food, the waste I produce here daily is second to none, where my helpers dispose it I don’t know, but I know it may be in an inappropriate location.
“But do we have a choice? Wastes are a day to day output of a normal individual, we can’t do without it but we cannot live with it.
“Government should restore the disposal bins placed on streets, and effective waste management strategies must be sustained.
“Before, we pay whenever we want to dispose wastes, we do not mind paying tokens, but let us have a reliable waste management system,” she said.
A pepper seller, Silifat Idris said, “You can see the stacks of waste basket we have over there; we are about going to dispose them on an unused piece of land.
“If tomorrow the owner comes to make use of the land, the next thing is that we are looking for another place to dump the wastes.
“We are not happy about it, we hope the government will bring back the waste collectors,” she said.
A resident, Mr Abdulhakeem Akande tasked the Ministry of Environment on reviving the waste management system in the state.
“When you pass through my area at Tanke, you see wastes on the street, it is an eye sore.
“Sometimes I blame people for not burning those wastes, but some wastes are not combustible, others do not even have compounds where they can burn
because they live with other tenants.
“It is only the government that can give a lasting solution; the ministry of environment should come up with a solution good enough to be sustained by the government.
“We call on the present administration to look into the issue of wastes as a matter of urgency before an epidemic breaks out,” he said.
NAN reports that at most of the market places flooding in the state are due to blockage of waterways by wastes disposers.
