Hanny Henry
As the global community commemorates World Environment Day, the Adamawa State Government has unveiled strategic initiatives aimed at ensuring a cleaner, healthier environment for its citizens, with a strong focus on combating plastic pollution the theme for this year’s celebration.
Speaking on the state’s environmental efforts, Muhammed Sadiq Muhammad,the Commissioner for Environment and Natural resources development, revealed that the government, in collaboration with the World Bank and various non-governmental organizations (NGOs), has finalized plans to establish a recycling plant that will transform plastic waste into useful products.
“We have concluded negotiations to install a recycling plant that will harvest the plastics littering our environment and convert them into reusable items such as chairs, beds, and interlock tiles,” the Commissioner said.
Initially earmarked for Gombi, the federal government had allocated land for the plant’s development. However, challenges related to transporting plastics from urban centers and inconsistent power supply in the area prompted a strategic shift.
The state government has since signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with key stakeholders to relocate the recycling facility to Yola, the state capital.
In an effort to curb plastic use at the source, the government is also engaging with major beverage producers including Adamawa Beverages and Coca-Cola. Discussions are ongoing to encourage the adoption of paper-based packaging as a sustainable alternative to plastics.
“We are working on ways to reduce plastic consumption at the industrial level, and one step is encouraging our manufacturers to shift from plastic to paper packaging,” the Commissioner added.
Another major step includes the reintroduction of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise, a practice that had been dormant for over three decades. This initiative, under the leadership of Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, is aimed at fostering a culture of cleanliness across the state.
The Ministry has also taken steps to streamline waste management by registering and monitoring all waste handlers. “We have summoned all the waste managers across the state and documented their details to ensure they dispose of waste only at designated sites,” the Commissioner stated.
Importantly, the government has issued a stern warning against the use of child labor in waste collection and recycling activities.
With a holistic approach that combines waste-to-wealth initiatives, industrial collaboration, public awareness, and government policy, Adamawa State is taking decisive action to make its environment cleaner and more sustainable for future generations.
Highlighting some of the ministry’s successes in the past 2years, Sadiq said the ministry has been able to successfully reintroduce monthly sanitation exercise, banning cutting of trees and also training of youths on making barricades for cooking.
