Mixed Reactions Trail Waste Basket Enforcement In Abuja

The move by the Abuja
Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) to enforce the use of waste bins in commercial vehicles is generating mixed reactions from drivers.
In separate interviews with our correspondent recently in Abuja, observed that some passengers littered the vehicle with waste materials instead of throwing such wastes into the baskets.
Mr Ambrose Nnodim, a FAB-REM Mass Transit driver, said the refusal of some passengers to use the waste baskets often caused misunderstanding between his conductor and passengers.
“The company provided two waste bins for the bus, one in the front and one at the back; but passengers prefer to dump waste inside the bus or throw them out from the windows.
“My conductor quarrels with passengers everyday, because he is the one that normally sweeps the refuse when they get down from the bus,’’ he said.
Mr Jacob Akanbi, also a driver with the company complained that passengers’ attitude towards the use of waste bins required proper sensitisation by the AEPB.
“We want government to put proper mechanism in place or to sanction the people involved, to reduce this menace before it gets out of hand.’’
According to Sule Abudullai, a conductor with Abuja Urban Mass Transit, passengers had fought him several times while trying to correct them on the proper disposal of refuse.
“Pouring waste in the bus can cause a lot of damages; if somebody steps on banana peels, it can make someone fall and sustain injury,’’ he said.
Mr Jibola Akintola, a taxi driver, said that the AEPB task force had been after them to purchase a waste basket for their vehicles, adding that there was no space for it.
Mr Lawrence Fadipe, the Chairman, National Union of Road Transport Workers, Jabi Park Town Services, expressed dissatisfaction over the manner the AEPB harassed taxi drivers over the use of the waste bins.
He said though AEPB was trying to enforce the regulation to promote sanity, they should consider the lack of space to fix them.
“Many times the AEPB task force harasses the taxi drivers on this particular issue, compelling them to pay a fine between N3,000 to N5,000 when caught.”
Fadipe urged the authority in charge to focus on the high capacity buses which has  enough space than taxis that did not have space to hang the waste bin.