Lack of waste management equipment is responsible for the mountains of refuse we met Abia- task force
The chairman of the special task force on emergency evacuation of refuse in Abia State Mazi Ogbonnia Okereke, has said that lack of receptacles and roll-up truck were responsible for the total break of waste management in the State.
He added that his team met over 2000 trucks of refuse in Umuahia and Aba the commercial hub of the state last month when his team commenced operation.
Okereke, in chat with our correspondent in Umuahia on Friday pointed out that his team has been able to evacuate 2,900 trucks of refuse in the last 30 days.
He revealed that entire Aba metropolis had only 6 fairly good
receptacles which were far below the capacity to effectively evacuate the 200 truck of refuse generated on a daily basis in the city.
Okereke, posited that since the task force team was a temporary arrangement, however efforts are in progress to offer a lasting solution for refuse management in the State.
He pointed out that over 200 receptacles, at the cost of 1.5 million naira only would be required to effectively manage waste disposal in the state.
The leader of the task force equally stated that he had interfaced with the staff of the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency, adding that the State government was ready to rejik the agency for optimal performance.
He said, “The task of refuse evacuation in the State has been a challenging one in the past one month. We met over 2000 trucks of refuse when we started operation in Aba and Umuahia.
“We also met only 10 receptacles and only 6 were fairly good. We also met only 3 roll-up trucks in Aba, but our findings have shown that 2000 receptacles are required for effective waste management in the state. Aba needs 1000 receptacles, Umuahia will require 50, while the remaining 50 can be distributed to other towns in the state.
“We will also require 20 tool up trucks too, but the State can’t afford to buy them now, that’s why we have advertised for partnership with the private sector which is the trend in other climes.
“We also solicit for the cooperation of the residents of the state. We urge them to dispose their refuse between 5pm to 9pm so as to enable our men on night operation to evacuate before the next day”.