Residents of Jos, Plateau, advocates for the establishment of waste plants in the state to control the proliferation of illegal dump sites.

When a viewpointNigeria correspondent seek their opinion they said that the waste plants would also reduce the risk of diseases transmitted through land pollution.

They also said that the facilities should be enjoyed as part of the dividends of democracy and development.
A resident of Bukuru in Jos South Local Government Area, said government should ensure that law enforcement officials issued fines and effect arrests of people who inappropriately disposed wastes.

“There is the need for the state Government to establish a waste and recycling plant which reduces the amount of waste sent to land fields.

“It will also reduce the harmful effects of climate change that comes from burning plastics and increases economic security of the people by tapping into domestic sources and materials,”Rick said.
He said the gesture would also prevent pollution of the environment and create jobs for the youth in the manufacturing and recycling industry.

A concern customer in terminus market in Jos North, asked the State Government to build more incinerating plants.

She said that such plants would ensure that wastes were being processed and the bi-products such as electricity and fertilisers are locally accessed in the state.
” Many countries dispose their waste in this manner and provide electricity for communities through such, if we look into that, we would be solving power problem and indiscriminate disposal of wastes,”

A Project Manager in a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO), established for ensuring environmental sustainability, said waste management could be controlled by individuals in the society.

“Our environment is our larger home; if we do not treat it well, we only hasten to reap the effects,” he said.

The Plateau Commissioner for Environment, Mr Usman Idi, said the state had a waste plant at Mistali in Bassa Local Government Area which would soon take off.

He expressed optimism that the facility would increase the number of waste collectors and create employment opportunities.

“We have waste plant on ground at Mistali, processes have been done, all paper work had been completed and we have financiers already.
“We intend to have three, one at our permanent dump site in Mistali which is already on ground while we have one each in central and Southern senatorial zones,”Idi said.

He said that the Plateau Environmental Protection And Sanitation Agency (PEPSA) had designated areas for residents to dump their wastes to ensure a clean and healthy environment and make its evacuation possible, but that residents still dumped domestic wastes indiscriminately.

“Some people even throw wastes into rivers making it impossible to evacuate such dirt.
“Some areas are not motorable because of indiscriminate erection of buildings, but people in those houses feel they can dump their wastes at their door steps, ignoring the designated areas. The evacuators cannot go door-to-door,” the commissioner said.

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Residents of Jos, Plateau, advocates for the establishment of waste plants in the state.