Skip to main content

CODAF AND OTHER CSOs APPLAUD DELTA STATE GOVERNMENT’S ZERO WASTE STRATEGIES; CALLS FOR WASTE PICKERS INCLUSION AND ANTI INCINERATION POLICIES



Community Development Advocacy Foundation (CODAF) applauds the Delta State Government for its efforts towards promoting the Zero Waste Initiative in the state, following a recently held meeting by the Delta State Ministry of Environment and the outcomes of the meeting. 

The Consultative Committee’s recommendations for waste segregation from source, sensitization on waste management, and the prerogative to work with transport workers, faith-based organizations, and government MDA’s will set the state as one of the first to take actionable steps towards Zero Waste, if these recommendations are implemented.

Executive Director of CODAF, Richard Benin while commending the state government for its laudable step towards waste management and environmental protection, called on the government to prioritize waste pickers inclusion in the process, as they are the waste management agents in the field. 

According to him, this can be rightly achieved by establishing a Waste Pickers' Association, to represent the interests of waste pickers and provide a platform for their voices to be heard.

“The state government can also develop and implement policies and regulations that recognize the role of waste pickers in waste management and provide them with legal protection, access to safety equipment, training, and social services, to improve their working conditions and livelihoods. The place of public awareness and education campaigns to recognize the contributions of waste pickers and promote social inclusion is vital towards advancing the role of waste pickers in the waste management system.”

Lending his voice on the issue, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternative (GAIA) Clean Air Program Manager, Weyinmi Okotie pointed out that the Delta State Government can learn valuable lessons from Lagos State's experience with waste management, emulating its policies towards the advancement of waste management, while ignoring policies that are detrimental to the environment. 

He added that Delta state must note that the Lagos State Government's plan to establish a waste-to-energy incinerator has been met with opposition from environmentalists and civil society organizations, who argue that incineration is not a viable climate solution and can have devastating environmental and health impacts.

Instead of embracing incineration, the Delta State Government can explore alternative waste management strategies that prioritize sustainability, public health, and environmental protection, such as the reduction of Methane emissions from the waste sector. This will be a concerted effort to divert organic waste from the dump site and convert such waste into compost manure, to support agricultural productivity.

Research has shown that single-use plastics make up a larger percentage of the waste produced, with single-use plastic as a harmful waste material that poses environmental and health risks. The Delta State Government should also look towards an outright ban of single-use plastics in the state, as a way of checking the plastic surge in the state.

The recommendations of CODAF are workable waste management strategies that have been tested in other climes, and have been viable in managing waste, protecting the environment and ensuring public health and safety. While we commend the steps taken by the Delta State government towards promoting zero waste in the state, we employ the government to factor the above-stated recommendations into the state’s waste management plan.

 

 


Read, comment and share with friends

Comments

Post a Comment

Elvira’s Pen

Popular posts from this blog

SEARCH AND PROJECT PARTNERS INAUGURATES STATE-LEVEL PEACE ARCHITECTURE IN RIVERS STATE

As part of the peace building project with the theme “A Community Centered Approach to Transforming Criminality and Violence in the Niger Delta” (CRIN-VIN), Search for Common Ground (SEARCH) and its consortium of partners has inaugurated a State-level Peace Architecture (SPA) in Rivers State, charged with the responsibility of handling conflict issues from the state levels involving state actors. The Inaugural Meeting which held on the 27th of June 2024 in Port Harcourt was attended by members of the community level peace architecture, local government level peace architecture, government agencies, security agencies, civil society organizations, academias, legal institutions  and other stakeholders. While presenting a welcome remark and the terms of reference for members of the SPA, The National Conflict Analyst of SEARCH in West Africa, Andy Nkemneme stated that the SPA is being set up as a group that will enhance the peace building and collaborative efforts of the CRIN-VIN p...
Post a Comment
Read more

DRUG ABUSE TOPS DISCUSSIONS AS KEY CONFLICT ISSUE IN RIVERS STATE, AT THE MEETING OF STATE PEACE ARCHITECTURE (Photos)

Drug related conflicts were top on the list of key conflict issues at a meeting of the Rivers State Peace Architecture (SPA) and the Steering Committee of the European Union funded project, “A Community Centered Approach To Transforming Violence and Criminality in the Niger Delta (CRIN-VIN)”. The State Peace Architectures were set up as part of the CRIN-VIN project being implemented by Search For Common Ground, in partnership with Stakeholders Democracy Network (SDN), Foundation for Partnership Initiative in the Niger Delta (PIND) and Academic Associate Peaceworks (AAPW), aimed at fostering inclusive community security approaches to addressing the systemic drivers of violence and criminality in the Niger Delta. The SPA meeting which held in Port Harcourt, was organized to discuss on the progress of the community, local government and state level peace architectures of the project, to identify key conflict issues in their various focus areas, and to elaborate on early warning/ ear...
Post a Comment
Read more

EU-ACT PROGRAMME IN RIVERS STATE CLOSES IN GRAND STYLE (Photos)

Civil Society Organizations under the    European Union Agent for Citizen-Driven Transformation (EU-ACT) project have been charged to mentor other CSOs towards achieving sustainable development and credibility in their work. Watch the video report here This was stated at the Closure of the EU-ACT project in Port Harcourt, which was funded by the European Union and implemented by the British Council, with 21 CSOs in Rivers State as partners.  The close out program with the theme, “Reflecting on the Journey and Impacts of ACT Programme in Rivers State” held on the 26th of March in Port Harcourt, and was widely attended by government representatives, CSOs, community representatives and others. In his welcome address, the ACT National Programme Manager, Damilare Babalola revealed that the ACT project which ran for five years in other states and four years in Rivers State, engaged 233 CSOs in 10 states, with    21 of these CSOs based in Rivers State. According to him...
1 comment
Read more