On Saturday, Lagos-based National Youth Service Corps member, Ushie Uguamaye also known as Raye went viral for her criticism of the government perceived poor environmental condition of Lagos.
A now trending video titled ‘Plastic Peril’ shared by Ngozi Ogugua, shows a group of engineers apparently concerned about the hazardous situation, especially the drainages went to town in Lagos to call public attention to the need to take action.
Backed by the Royal Academy of Engineers, they undertook a study and an enlightenment campaign on the need to keep non-biogradable waste away from waterways.
Their findings revealed slums with near stagnant, polluted and smelly water. There were canals and waterways blocked by plastic, industrial and domestic waste which the engineers lament are threatening the state’s ecosystems and turning the state once known as the State of Aquatic Splendour into a “dump site of plastic waste“. No part of Lagos is spared of the life-threatening pollution.
Taking viewers to the highbrow Osborn estate in Ikoyi, Babatunde Gbomuyi, a resident decried the situation of the canal. He said the water channel has been clogged with “pet bottles, styrofoam food packs and all sorts of non-biodegradable waste.”
According to him, over 800,000 tons of plastic waste is generated each year by the over 22,000 inhabitants, some in densely populated suburbs with little or no air circulation.
Another resident lamented that during the rainy season his family hardly sleeps as he stays up carrying his 2 toddlers because of the flood that comes with the slightest rainfall. The avoidable floods sweep the dirty water and slimy waste from the blocked canals and gutters into their rooms. They then begin to bail out the water and clean their apartments after the rains.
The team of engineers complained that a lot of the plastic waste has penetrated the soil, hampering subsistence farming. One of the residents of Lagos recommended an agency beyond the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA). Such an agency should solely be responsible for maintaining the waterways to reduce hazardous pollution by constantly clearing the canals, lagoon and drainages.
On his part, Mr Gbomuyi recommended strong penalties against the use of pet bottles, styrofoam packs, nylon bags and everything that is non-biodegradable. He said that in other parts of the world, people no longer eat from plastic packaging packs as paper packs have replaced them.
The engineers commend the initiative of residents who collect plastic bottles from waste bins and dump sites for recycling, an occupation that has proven to be lucrative.
Read also:
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Trending Video Shows The Actual Environmental Condition of Lagos Despite Corper’s Apology
