Take a fresh look at your lifestyle.

Association lists hurdles at Ojota dumpsite

The Chairman, TopSand Waste Pickers Association, Mr Taiwo Abiodun, on Wednesday identified insufficient trucks, lack of First Aid Centre and good road networks as major challenges at the Ojota dump site.
Abiodun made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
According to him, the  seven trucks currently at the dump site are not enough to push the waste far away from the surface of the roads into the swampy areas.
”The dump site can still serve its purpose for the next 10 years.
”There are still many swampy areas yet to be filled up and compacted.
”At present, there are just  seven trucks at the dumpsite and this is not enough as you can see.
”We need more caterpillars for the waste to be properly taking care of, and we are appealing to the Lagos State Government to mobilise more caterpillars to the dump site,” he said.
Abiodun said that the dump site had over 3, 000 waste pickers currently working  there and were registered with the association and that the association was there to take care of the welfare of all its members and others visiting the dumpsite daily.
Related Posts
Mr Julius Amaechi, the association’s secretary said that there was a dare need of a  First Aid centre at the dump site.
”How we operate here is that when the trucks gets to the platform to off load, the waste pickets in larger numbers rushed to the platform to pick materials dear to them.
”In the process, some of them get injured by some sharp materials or by the truck or by the caterpillar when its coming to push the waste out of the platform.
”We have cases like that every day and our task force will rush and rescue them.
”When they bring them out the problems had been to get prompt first aid treatment for the victims,” he said.
Amaechi said that the areas needed a good road networks so that trucks would enter from one gate and go out through the other gate.
He said that it would help to decongest the roads and facilitate trucks off loading easily and doing as many trips as possible.
Mr Raymond Ikenna, the Association’s Vice Chairman, said that some of the resourceful waste picked by the waste pickers included iron, pet and normal bottles, nylons and cartons.
He said that others were aluminium products such as cans, scrap coppers, brass and panels among others.
According to him, the materials were sold by scales of one kilo, five kilos, 10 kilos among others.
He said that  the pet bottles were sold for N44 per kilo, adding that prices varies per kilo for other waste materials.
Ikenna said that when a particular waste materials reached 10 tonnes to fill a truck, the buyers would then arrange for trucks to take them outside the dump sites to various companies that needed them.
He said that the association  had taskforce that maintained law and order in the dumpsite, and ensure that no good was stolen from the place.
Ikenna said that the waste pickers needed financial support and necessary training  on good practices and how to take care of their health as well as sanitise the dumpsite. (NAN)
Comments
Loading...