The Kaduna State Government has handed over waste management in the state to three investors, who are committing N10 billion to the project.
Mr Yusuf Othman, the Director of Environment, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaura, Kaduna State.
Othman, who spoke on the sideline of a community sensitisation and advocacy on land degradation and plantation in Kafanchan, said that proper waste management was a priority of the state government.
“You know health is wealth. So, government took it as a very serious priority to ensure that we sanitise our environment.
“As a trend, we have to key into global practices. There is nowhere in the world where they are still operating the way we do when it comes to waste management.
“It will interest you to know that we have handed over waste management in Kaduna State to three investors, and they are committing about N10 billion.
“And these investors are: Bealink, Environmental Expression Limited and MS Gobe,” he said.
Othman said the investors would recycle the waste collected into organic manure, adding that it was far better for farming than the chemical fertiliser.
“What they intend to do is to recover and recycle the recycleable materials, decompose the organic part and then treat and package it in form of organic manure.
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“You know fully well Kaduna is an agrarian state. We have a lot of farmers that have spent a lot of money in buying chemical fertiliser which is not the best.
“It causes land degradation and then market wise, it is not as valuable as the inorganic type of the commodity.
“So, these investors are coming to now set up plants for these wastes for manure making.
“All these polythene bags that are a serious nuisance will be recycled and transformed into something that is less problematic to the environment,’’ the director said.
Othman advised residents to keep their surroundings clean, adding that the state government had enabling laws on waste management, and would not hesitate to prosecute offenders. (NAN)