Climate activists say ‘everything can be recycled’

Environmental rights activists have recommended the phasing out of sachet water and single plastic use, and advised governments to establish recycling industries.

They said such industries will strengthen the economy and also create youth employment, noting “there was no waste that cannot be recycled.”

They added that one major strategy to reduce the high incidence of diseases in the country is through the adoption of zero waste management mechanism.

The environmental activists spoke at a town hall meeting/inauguration of ZeWA organised by Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), on “Strengthening Local Capacities for Improved Waste Management Policies”.

The meeting held, weekend, at Opolo community, Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

For ERA/FoEN Executive Director, “What we need is to figure out what to put in place to ensure that Bayelsa is safe and operate at a zero waste level, whether there is actually what they call waste.

“Nothing should be actually wasted, because we don’t have the land to contain the waste and if we put in the water it will create bigger problems for our people.”

He noted that the act of waste management is a collective responsibility, which begins from the household waste generator to the industrial and medical waste generation.

“The communities are involved because they are the people suffering the direct negative impact of dumping of waste. We will all work together as collective partners.”

Another activist, Mr. Ubrei-joe Maimoni, said the conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse and recovery of all products, packaging, and materials was important.

He spoke against burning them, discharging on land, water, or air that threatens the environment or human health.

On his part, state coordinator of ZeWA, Mr. Walson Paminola, regretted that the state does not have existing waste management law but makes use of the Environmental Sanitation Law, and the State Public Health Law, which he regarded as not effective enough.