Abia plans Waste-to-wealth re-cycling plant

Abia State government says it is reaching-out to investors and experts in Waste Management  to establish a  Multi-purpose Waste  Recycling plant  in the state.

In realization of this objective, the State Environmental  Protection Agency, ASEPA, has set up a team to determine the quantum of refuse  being  generated from Umuahia and Aba Metropolitan cities  on daily, weekly and monthly basis.

The Agency has also put things in place to flag-off Sorting  and classification of wastes into three categories, namely- Medical hardware  wastes, Degradable and Non-degradable waste materials.

ASEPA Deputy General Manager for Umuahia Zone, Catechist Ambrose Jonah, who disclosed this during media interaction with members of the Correspondent Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, in Umuahia,  said that the Agency has produced  three sets of big bags for each of the categories of  wastes being generated  in the urban centres.

Jonah said that before the end of this year, ASEPA would commence  house-to-house refuse collection, initially using  the various Housing Estates that exist  in Umuahia and Aba  zones of the state.

He hinted that when the various proposals already submitted to the governor for approvals  come to fruition, ASEPA  would, not only be involved in ensuring a clean environment, but will also be involved in massive revenue generation and providing facilities  available to employ the teaming  population of the unemployed in the state and beyond ,through effective waste management’s.

He further stated that a Law to regulate payments of  ASEPA/Environmental Sanitation  fees(amendment) Bill earlier sent to Abia state House of Assembly, will soon be assented to by governor Alex Otti.

Cited as: “ASEPA Environmental Sanitation Harmonization Law 2024,” the amended Law will, among other things, check the prevailing incessant activities of fake revenue collection  by touts as well as spell-out appropriate amount each household is to pay  in the state.

In the words of the   ASEPA Umuahia Zonal-boss, “Our ultimate is to turn wastes to wealth in Abia, aside ensuring clean  environment and healthful living  for Abia citizenry. We have arrested and prosecuted some  fake  ASEPA revenue  agents to serve as deterrents to others who have been operating and defrauding  uninformed people  about  the new  revenue collection since the Single Treasury Account, STA, became operational.

“ ASEPA, since I came into office in February 2024, has procured three Trucks. We have solved the perennial problem at the Ohiya-Ubakala dump-site,  along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Express-Way, where the past administration allowed refuse to  take-over one lane of the Express-Way. We have pushed the rubbish far into the bush. Not only that, we  have cleared gutters that had not been desilted for 35 years. Many  inhabitants  did not know that gutters existed in those areas.  For purposes of enlightenments , we now send  our staff to communities and schools to educate people on the need for clean environment  and healthful living”.

On staff welfare, Jonah disclosed that ASEPA recently recruited 200 adhoc staff to boost efforts of the Agency,  just as the Agency has  constructed 30 waste buckets  at the cost of N3.5Million each. He said both ad hoc and permanent personnel of the Agency are enjoying regular salaries and promotions, as at when due.