Director, Environment and Ecology, Lagos State Ministry of Environment,  Dr Afolabi Abiodun, has urged manufacturers and households to manage their waste well to guide against environmental degradation.

Abiodun told newsmen  in Lagos  that proper waste management by companies could curtail the problem of arbitrary disposal of toxic wastes in the country.

The director said because of the hazardous nature of chemicals from industrial activities, companies should go the extra mile to dispose their effluents appropriately.

“Manufacturing processes can generate chemical wastes which could be toxic and pose threats to the environment and human health.

“Manufacturing industries should look for a way to recycle their wastes because all wastes can be recycled.

“Residue should be channelled into the effluent treatment plants where it will be treated and re-used and this can form additional source of income,” Abiodun said.

He said that industries that did not have effluent treatment plant should endeavour to get one or be registered with waste management authorities.

“For the households, they should have septic tanks in front of their homes for the waste.

“The public needs to desist from the ugly act of disposing wastes into the drainage canals.

“Trees and forest should not be cut or burnt. They are environment components that make it beautiful,” he said.

Abiodun said that safety of the environment was a collective responsibility of everybody and should not be left to the state government alone.

He advised manufacturers and households to obey environmental regulations so as to assist the government in making a safe and healthy environment a reality.