We cannot have equilibrium in this world with the current inequality and destruction of MOTHER EARTH. Capitalism is what is causing the problem and it needs to end - Evo Morales.
Waste
materials at some point are derivatives of certain raw materials, and there are
primary and secondary uses of all natural resources. Most waste materials in
contemporary times are re-usable if properly recycled, but this seems to
function more in the western part of the world.
The indiscriminate litter and refuse disposal
in Nigeria has reached a seemingly high level, with little or no pragmatic
approach to recycling. I started hearing about recycling as a child, it appears
on almost all perishables/consumables i.e. Sachet water, Bottled Soda, Biscuits,
Cookies, to mention a few, but I rarely see people practice this. It is more of
a regulatory custom to include it on signage and production materials but
pragmatic practices are limited.
Recycling
is as important to environmental sustainability as sanitation. Testimonials of
positive environmental advantages of recycling are all over both new and
traditional media materials, though only in societies where proper recycling is
being practiced. Recycling allows humans to preserve and re-use potentially
useful materials and also reduces to the barest minimum, consumption of newer
raw materials. It is also pertinent to know that by recycling, we help our
communities, environment and humanity at large to save or reduce usage of
financial resources, energy and natural resources.
“Recycling Steel and Tin cans saves 74% of the energy used to produce them”.
In
recent times, there have been campaigns from individuals, corporate
bodies/organizations, state and non-state actors etc. concerning the climate
change and the supposed threats to humanity. Well, I was not around in the
1970s but history has it recorded that a global cooling which was supposed to
usher the world into a massive ice age was predicted back then with
verifications by theories and experiments from over 60 scientific outlets. The
world has survived - key word being “Survived” this far. Now the world is faced
with a much more dangerous imminent threat of “Global Warming”, because of
certain recurring effects of human’s nonchalant attitude towards preservation
of the environment and its sustainability.
Many
most times result to indiscriminate burning of all waste materials forgetting
about disposal advice from the manufacturer or regulatory bodies. I have
personally witnessed burning of soda bottles (Polyvinylchloride) in residential
areas of Nigeria; even though this
exposes humans and the environment to carbon monoxide, dioxins and furans.
“Carbon monoxide is highly poisonous and lethal, while previous studies have related dioxins and furans to cancer and respiratory diseases” - CaraHealth, 2016.
The
habit of recycling is more prominent in human minds than in practice. The
perspective of abundance of all resources and no dire need for management of
natural resources kills the environment daily, even faster than notable
environmental challenges in recent times.
However,
we still have opportunities for change. Sometimes ago, I acted in the capacity
of an observer at a tech competition in Lagos, Nigeria and I was impressed to
see that one of the teams developed a web application that allows users to call
the attention of waste management bodies or interested individuals to
indiscriminate disposal of recyclables. Though they did not win the
competition, but for me, they had the most sustainable plan and project in the
competition.
World
governments and existing environmental stakeholders have over the years had
summits, meetings, discussions and sorts on issues that affect the environment
but it saddens the heart to see that all these issues persist. So this leaves
us with two options “Billions of World currencies invested in environmental
talks have run to waste” or “Vital
issues are treated as trivial”-highlighted is my best guess.
Opportunities for Change
The
long existed recycling campaign should be jump-started, but with a more
pragmatic approach; “practices more than theories” and also educating the end
users of all recyclables to understand that the three arrows icon (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) which appears on most of the consumables is not a joke. I
believe civil societies can really help, especially in Nigeria. Certain civil
societies and social enterprises have shown optimal and some excellent
performances in carrying out their outlined objectives, i.e. EiENigeria, Paradigm
Initiative, BudgIT, ARFH, WeCyclers
etc. though most of them operate outside the contest of this discussion but it
is an assurance that CSOs/NGOs will deliver with proper training and support.
Second
to this is a waste to wealth initiative, the 2017 edition of the Office
of the Citizen Hackaton 2.0, a group worked on an application that allows
people to call on constituted authorities and designated agencies for proper
disposal or excavation of waste dumps. In my opinion, such technology should be
taken up by potential sponsors with the inclusion of individuals who are
interested in “Dirt to Wealth Initiative”.
These are people who already have access to both intellectual and technological
know-how of proper recycling; and are willing to not only recycle waste for
their personal gains but also educate others on the benefits of proper
recycling to the health, wealth and earth.
Reduce♼ Re-Use♼ Recycle♼
Bye!!!
Comments
Post a Comment