SWISS Pharma Nigeria Limited, one of the pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria, recently embarked on a clean-up and education campaign on the adverse effects of improper waste disposal.
Media reports state that the Management and staff of the company, in collaboration with the Dopemu community in Agege LGA, led by the Community Head, Mr Shuaib Afogunlowo, went on a full-day activation, which involved rewarding all waste collectors with food items and allocating 10 DORI bins to selected bin posts.
The company announced that the host communities would continue to receive monthly allowances for their role as collectors and for providing recyclable materials.
It should be noted that the environmental challenge, which led to the clean-up campaign had been lingering for almost three years following a heavy rainfall which occurred on May 9, 2019, and left the premises of Swipha at Dopemu Road, Lagos, severely flooded, with the cause of the flood traced to heaps of refuse, which blocked the mesh inside the drainages.
The unfortunate event prompted the organisation to reach out to the Ministry of Environment, and on May 19, 2021, an acknowledgement letter was received stating the government’s readiness to reconstruct the drainage as well as address the issue of indiscriminate waste disposal.
The reconstruction project lasted six months from January to July 2022, while the problem of indiscriminate waste disposal in the drainage was not addressed, leading to the appointment of Recycle Points Limited, a waste recycling and social benefit venture, by the company, to lead the clean-up and education campaign.
The developments have seen positive changes in the community with drainages flowing freely and they are evacuated weekly. The waste has also become a means of income for members of the community with the monthly collection of recyclable materials from bin hosts.
Each item collected is weighed based on the classification and values presented either as cash or a list of food or household items available.
GUARDIAN
