Lagos Refuse: Expert Uncovers Way To Manage Waste

LAWMA

Lagos State should deploy community-centred approach to effectively manage waste, says Associate Professor of Community Health and Medical Sociology Oluropo Ayodele.

According to the Crawford University, Ogun State don, past governments have failed to effectively handle waste disposal in the state.

Ayodele told Punch that, “One of the reasons I think they are not succeeding is because they are doing it through the usual civil service structure; they don’t want to be innovative and think outside the box.

“The idea that we are proposing is to use community-based approach to solve the problem and I didn’t just arrive at that, it was after thorough investigation and analysis, because as an academic, you have to be innovative.

“The civil service structure is failing because it is not innovative. So, the idea is based on empirical information that I have gathered over the years.

“One of them is that waste management and flood control ought to be tackled at the household level; and how did I arrive at that? It was based on sound research and empirical work.”

According to him, “There were two lecturers from the Lagos State University, who did a study for the Lagos State Waste Management Authority and concluded that the only way to solve the problem of waste management in Lagos is to find a way of involving the women at household level.

There was another study done by another lecturer for the UNFPA, the same thing she came up with that the community must be involved, particularly women. In my own study, which I did recently that involved about six communities in Lagos, including Orimedo, Lawanson and Amukoko, and sponsored by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, I found that a lot of people were dumping their refuse by the roadside, in uncompleted buildings and the drains.

“I did the study in about six communities, which means a lot of people are doing it and I concluded that if we were to have a proper handle of waste management and flood control, we must find a way of involving the women at the household level.”





Disclaimer: Stories culled and pictures posted on this blog will be given due credit and is not the fault of drifternews.blogspot.com if website culled from misrepresents source of story.