Stakeholders at a waste management meeting on Friday in Ibadan, called for attitudinal change of residents and enforcement of the existing sanitation laws to address waste management challenges in Oyo State.

They made the call at a Town Hall meeting tagged: “Beautiful Ibadan City: The Waste Management Agenda” held in Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo State, with key participants in attendance.

At the event, Dr Wasiu Olatubosun, the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, called for genuine collaboration among relevant government authorities and the public to tackle the menace of indiscriminate waste disposal.

Mr Olatubosun said that the state government, under Gov. Seyi Makinde’s leadership, had done a lot in waste management in the state, noting that before 2019, the four dumpsites in the city were poorly managed.

This, he said, gave room for communicable diseases in Awotan and other residential areas close to the dumpsites, until Mr Makinde’s government gave the dumpsite a face-lift.

“There is need for a change in people’s attitude toward waste disposal.

“We have also approached residents with appeal, which we trust, will bring changes in people’s attitudes,” the commissioner said.

According to him, Oyo State Government has laws on sanitation that must be enforced to bring about the needed change in the state.

“Our duty bearers, enforcement agencies, must see to it that the laws are respected and enforced in the state,” Olatubosun said.

The chairperson, Oyo State waste management task force, Mrs Aderonke Adedayo, described waste management in the state as a social enterprise.

Mrs Adedayo said that part of the ways of tackling poor waste management in the state, was the engagement of Private Sector Participation, who has over the years built waste management business in a way appreciated by the state government.

She said that in pursuit of sustainable waste management, the waste management contractor, Mottainai Recycling Ltd., is regulating the activities of about 121 Mottainai Accredited Franchisees, otherwise known as MAFs.

“Initially, the state had about 235 waste collectors, some of them were not paying into the coffers of the state government and they did not have capacity either.

“This contributed largely to the poor management of waste in the state,” Mrs Adedayo said.

The task force chairperson, therefore, lauded Mottainai for its efforts at ensuring proper waste collection and monitoring of waste dumping.

“We are getting it right in Oyo State because we have ensured proper control of the activities. The strength of waste management is based on monitoring of operations,” she added.

Mrs Adedayo also said community policing is key to waste management, adding, “a local problem requires local solutions in this side of the country”.

Earlier, the keynote speaker, Dr Abdulwasiu Ajagbe, urged residents of the state to join hands together with the state government in putting an end to solid waste problems.

Other speakers at the event applauded the present administration’s responsiveness to all issues, especially those related to the safety of lives and property.  

(NAN)