The Association of Environmental Lawyers of Nigeria (AELN), has decried the unwholesome practice of dumping used tyres in some parts of the Port Harcourt metropolis, with a call to the relevant authorities to do something urgently to stop the trend, describing the practice as unacceptable and worrisome, as such tyres are de-marketing Rivers State.
The body equally indicates that instead of indiscriminately dumping the tyres, they could be recycled for the benefits of the society.
The President of the association, Dr. Samuel Chisa Dike, who made the assertion in an interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt, said he had personally raised the issue of dumping heaps of tyres in the city with the former State Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Igbiks Tamuno.
He said the dumping of the used tyres in Port Harcourt, coupled with the indiscriminate burning of the products by some individuals constitutes grave environmental nuisance to residents of the State apart from de-marketing the State, and called for measures to be put in place to stop the trend.
Dike, who is the Head of Department, Jurisprudence and International Law at the Faculty of Law, Rivers State University, however, advised the government to take steps in ensuring that such used tyres are recycled and deployed for electricity generation, and other manufacturing purposes like production of hangers and tarring of roads, insisting that technologies abound by which such products could be put to better use.
To effectively achieve this, he said there was need to partner with other countries which have successfully recycled such products for the betterment of their societies.
The senior lecturer, who is also an Associate Professor of Energy and Environmental Law, said the dumping of the tyres apart from de-marketing the State, equally defaces the Port Harcourt metropolis.
“These tyres are de-marketing the State. The Governor is trying. You see flyovers here and there. But in the midst of this, going to the city centre to see heaps of tyres, this is a minus. Something has to be done urgently to complement what the Governor is doing to give the State a facelift,” he said, contending that “whoever had dumped those tyres is causing a lot of environmental problems here. Whoever had permitted their dumping is compromising to the problem. So, we must address it.”
Dike further noted that indiscriminate burning of tyres, animals and cattle by some individuals in the State constitutes grave danger to the health of the people, and called for the relocation of such individuals to a safer area where their activities would not constitute hazard to the lives of the people of the State.
According to him, soot being experienced in the State is not unconnected with the indiscriminate burning of tyres, oil and gas activities and other bio-degradable activities going on in the State.
The university teacher also decried a situation where gas flaring is still noticeable in the State, particularly in Aluu Community, among other communities, and called for the reinvigoration of the State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA) to make it more result-oriented.

By: Donatus Ebi