‘Waste management in Ondo, model worthy of emulation’

Waste management in Ondo State city centres is being adjudged to be a classic case of modern day environmental development.

The cleaner and healthy environment as noted in places like Akure, the state capital, Ondo township, Owo,  among others are products of Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s desire to leave behind, a legacy that would be difficult to discountenanced in the distant future.

When the Integrated Waste Management System (IWMS) was put in place, not many believed that achievement recorded so far would be possible.

The project focuses on the provision of world class integrated waste management infrastructure and services, which revolves around efficient collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of waste.

It also includes solid waste, liquid waste, e-waste, medical waste, resources conservation and material recovery in Ondo State for 20 years under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model of concession.

At the commissioning of   Saint James Caring Heart Mega School, Akure, recently, Mimiko stated that the urban renewal programme would amount to nothing if there is no efficient waste management system.

The project that was piloted in six local governments in the state which include Akure South, Ondo West, Odigbo, Okitipupa, Owo and Ikare, and later extended to other locations eliminated the menace of flooding and other related environmental nuisance.

A former Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Barrister Ebiseni, at one of the stakeholders’ meeting informed that the project will cut across the entire 18 local government areas of the state. Ebiseni explained that part of the commitment of the present administration at ensuring good governance in the state is the effective collection and disposal of waste.

This he said informed the placement of policies and projects targeted at enhancing the aesthetic value of the state capital.

He noted that many trucks were procured for waste collection and disposal while 130 environmental security guards were employed to complement the enforcement of the of environmental sanitation law in the state including deployment of highway sweepers for daily street cleaning of major streets   with regular cleaning of illegal dumpsites in the state capital among others.

Commenting on the stride made in the area of waste management, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Kayode Akinmade stated that the increase in population in the capital and other major towns and cities in the state created the attendant problem of higher waste generation, which he said posed a great challenge for effective waste management hence the need to adopt the modern best practice through converting waste to wealth.

According to Akinmade, the situation required the implementation of a ‘world class management and operations of integrated waste management system’ which emphasized efficient collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of waste.

He stated that the success of the project was made possible by the introduction of private sector participants (PSPs) and other human resources of the Waste Management System incorporated into the project.

He said stakeholders’ meeting meant to sensitize the public on the Waste Content Wealth Initiative of the present government and the need to key into the laudable initiative and equally to discuss the content of the MoU for effective implementation.

“The first phase of the project will take about five years while the company will also come up with assembling trucks. It’s a win-win project for the state government and the citizenry through quantum of employment directly and indirectly”.

At the commencement of the initiative, several meetings of stakeholders were held at different locations to ensure its smooth operation.

In one of the meetings, the General Manager of the Authority, Mr Ayo Mesileya maintained that the project will generate employment for the teeming youths and ensure cleaner environment in the state.

The State President, Environmental Health Association, Mr. Rotimi Adeyemi, a legal practitioner, commended the initiative and promised to support the project to make it a success.

In the same vein, the caretaker chairman, Odigbo local government, Mr Ayodele Joseph, at that time, also said the state has achieved a lot in term of waste management which made her to be the ‘cleanest’ state capital in Nigeria.

He noted that the project will further ensure that all the local governments in the state are cleaner, making the state the best in terms of cleanliness.