Used cellophane bags that litter the environment may constitute a threat, but can be used to generate wealth in the country, a sanitation and hygiene expert has said.

The National Coordinator Youth Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Network, Mr. Nature Obiakor  said this in an interview with newsmen recently in Abuja.

Obiakor said that such materials were seen as a source of wealth because if properly managed, they could create jobs in the country.

The Youth WASH Network was established in 2011 as a coordinating, organising and networking platform for youth-focused organisations working on water, sanitation and hygiene programmes and projects in Africa.

Obiakor called on government and donor agencies to invest in the waste-to-wealth project by recycling such used materials to create opportunities for jobs, especially for the youth

“The cellophane bags that are seen everywhere around the streets blocking drainages mean money; it’s wealth, it can create jobs and can also create wealth for people; but the problem we have is that it’s not being managed and so many people are seeing investment in this recycling.

“Because these things can really be recycled that’s one of the projects we are looking at to also work out some things with NAFDAC and some of all these major agencies to see how these things can be recycled.

“They block drainages but they are also opportunities that can be harnessed like we young people now have a project on this our waste to wealth, if we can get funders who can really involve young people, who can support a recycling project.

“In Lagos people gather pure water leather they go and scale it and sell and get some money so young people who do not have what they are doing, instead of allowing these cellophane to block the road, they go and gather these things sell it and make money.

“So am not seeing these pure water leathers and some of these cellophanes around as a major challenge, I see them as an opportunity that can be tapped into but the challenge now is who and who is ready to support these young ones to tap into this opportunities.”

He said that as part of the network’s plans for the year, it would organise a summit with the title: ‘keep your promise campaign’.

“The campaign is one of our priorities for this year because we want to make sure we are not only being used as agents of campaigns for more funding; we want to also be agents of monitoring and evaluation of most of the water sanitation and hygiene programmes.”

He said the campaign would focus on how young people could be mainstreamed and involved in the monitoring and evaluation activities of WASH projects to ensure proper execution.

According to him, the organisation will also embark on water sanitation and hygiene campaign on university campuses across the country in order to get more females involved in WASH activities.

“We are also looking at gender issues because if you are talking about Water Sanitation and Hygiene, gender issues constitute one of our priorities; and in this our gender issues, we want to really take out our campaigns to the campuses targeting females.

“We believe that women are major custodians of sanitation and hygiene because they take care of both the children, they take care of both the elderly, women are generally known as care givers, we really want to bring them on board.

“Especially the female because we know they can influence the guys, they can influence their parents back home and they can also be agent of carrying along the secondary schools.