‘Use Waste Management To Create Employment’

A university teacher, Prof. Oladele Osibanjo, has  called on government to lay emphasis on the issue of integrated waste management to solve the unemployment problem.

Osibanjo, who is the Director Basel Convection Coordinating Center for training and Technology Transfer for the African Region, University of Ibadan, made the call in an interview with tnewsmen in Abuja recently.

He said that waste had many valuable materials which most people might not know about, and enumerated such to include; metals, plastics, papers, glasses among others.

‘’Waste is a gold mine if it is properly managed, it can be recycled, it can provide employment and better still ensure cleaner environment.

“We do not know how to handle waste from our homes and industries, no proper collection, separation and segregation of waste, “ he said.

He also said that waste from food which is bio-degradables could be used to manufacture fertiliser for use on the farms to promote agricultural production.

“Everything we call waste can be recycled for reuse, we can turn waste to wealth and to energy too.

“Waste management can provide a huge source of employment too and most especially too will enhance better environment,” he said.

He stressed the need to make a shift from waste dumping to waste management so as to develop the economy.