Is Port Harcourt Gradually Becoming A Garbage City? – Emeka Nwankwo Johnson

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By Nwankwo Emeka Johnson

It’s no longer news that the once Garden City is gradually becoming a city where huge piles of waste, old house items, waste from construction sites and used products are dumped by roadside, major roads of the city of Port Harcourt.

This trend is on the rise and it’s increasingly becoming a problem because it hinders the objective of keeping the environment clean and can have serious negative health impacts on human beings and those doing business around such an environment.

I hope you all know that Nigeria is not a major contributor to global warming, and it is really of great concern to all of us since African Countries have been identified as the most vulnerable. Combating climate change is a global effort and, as such, everyone must play its role to reduce the GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emission.

According to Environmental Protection Agencies and Departments, this malpractice is termed as illegal dumping and considered unlawful on account of the harm it causes to the environment.

From the pictures attached herein, heaps of garbage, mainly plastic waste, were dumped on the major road around Slaughter Road and Oginigba River along the Road and these can also be found in many residential areas of Rivers State.

Rivers State residents should take clean environment as their priority and the Government should look out for solutions to enable a sustainable environment in the State and also partner with organizations to return the city to its former State of environment.

In the absence of bins, residents dump their waste on roads as scavengers, dogs and cattle squatter upon the waste and also consume it.

Management of solid waste has posed a serious challenge to the development of many developing nations across the globe. Factors responsible for the growth in waste generation in many modern societies are traced to increasing population that is complemented by rapid urbanization and industrialization, which has resulted into a dramatic increase in the volume of wastes generated.

Garbage is removed by conservancy workers once in a week after it gets piled up. Also, debris from buildings and waste from hotels are dumped on same road. This will not only lead to environmental issues, but the width of the road that can be used gets reduced and increasing the chances of accident due to the facts that the road has been reduced to enable free flow of vehicular movements.

“Either bins should be placed or garbage should be cleared regularly”.

If bins are available in the street corners, residents will utilize it and if any fails to, such person will be charge because dumping garbage along the road causes more climate crisis.

Impacts of solid waste on health

People living close to a waste dump and those, whose water supply has become contaminated either due to waste dumping or leakage from landfill sites. Uncollected solid waste also increases risk of injury, and infection.

Exposure to hazardous waste can affect human health, children being more vulnerable to these pollutants
In fact, direct exposure can lead to diseases through chemical exposure as the release of chemical waste into the environment leads to chemical poisoning.

Many studies have been carried out in various parts of the world to establish a connection between health and hazardous waste. Direct dumping of untreated waste in Rivers, Seas, and Lakes results in the accumulation of toxic substances in the food chain through the plants and animals that feed on it.

Solutions to Dumping Garbage

1. Collective Responsibility.
   Yes, it’s possible for people in all communities and societies to stand up against illegal dumping. Many a time, the people that engage in illegal dumping activities do so knowingly and are always on the lookout for places where the environmental regulatory authorizes hardly patrol. If people can take the responsibility of reporting any witnessed act of illegal dumping, it can impressively help in curbing the activity. This strategy should also work towards establishing a special task force that includes the Environmental, Health, Police, and Public Works Departments to work in cooperation with the local people.
2. Law Enforcement: Instead of spending millions of cash cleaning up illegally dumped materials, a special task force of Police can be employed to watch over sites where illegal dumping frequently occurs.
3. Awareness Creation and Sensitization: Outreach through educational and awareness creation in affected communities can significantly aid in solving the illegal dumping problem. It highlights the adverse effects of the activity, spurs positive involvement, and can increase the number of residents who volunteer to monitor and report any instances of illegal dumping.

Publicizing success through the media, especially in terms of arrests made may also help in showing people that illegal dumping is wrong and can fuel illegal dumping prevention.

4. Setting Lower Disposal Fees at Waste Management Sites and Higher Fines for Illegal Dumping
   Environmental authorities, together with the local governments, need to set lower disposal fees to encourage people to use the lawfully stipulated waste disposal systems.

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