Oyo State Government, on Saturday, sealed off some houses and shops within the Academy Market, Ibadan over unhygienic practices.
The Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr Abiodun Oni said residents and owners of the shop violated environmental laws and failed to comply with the laid down hygienic practices.
Speaking through the Special Adviser on Environment, Engineer Ademola Aderinto, the commissioner said the buildings were sealed off during the ongoing sensitisation and enforcement campaign of the Oyo State government to commemorate this year’s World Clean-up Day.
He said the exercise was done to ensure total compliance with environmental hygiene and prevent the possible outbreak of any disease, pointing out that Environmental Health Officers had earlier visited the affected buildings and told the owners to do the needful but they failed to do so.
The commissioner, who said the affected buildings are responsible for heaps of waste dumped in the market and along the main roads, added that they do not have adequate waste bins for the waste being generated in their compounds.
Also, as part of activities marking this year’s World Clean-up Day, the Oyo State Government and Mottainai Recycling Ltd, recovered Five-thousand, One-hundred and seventy (5, 170) kilograms of plastic wastes in the clean-up activities carried out in the Academy Community market in Ibadan.
The team also recovered One Thousand, One Hundred (1,100) kilograms of cartons from the market.
According to Mr Aderinto, the exercise, which was carried out in conjunction with Waste Management Authority in the State and Mottainai Recycling Ltd, was also used to sensitize and educate market women on how a waste-free environment can foster better customer relations and increase sales.
He also appealed to residents to key into the Oyo State Government’s environmental blueprint.
“Marketplaces are by nature unkempt with practices that are harmful to the ecosystem, but Oyo State Government believes that with continuous sensitisation and enforcement, we can make the traders understand the importance of a neat location for business”, Aderinto said.
Speaking on the campaign, Managing Director, Mottainai Recycling Ltd, Mr Adey Adewuyi explained that the initiative was borne out of the need to ensure Oyo State is clean.
Mr Adewuyi who spoke through the Chief Sustainability Officer, Mottainai Recycling Ltd, Ms Deborah Fadeyi said, “We are commemorating the World Clean-up Day in a very unconventional way, with the market people.” “We are here to show them how waste can be turned into wealth”.
Also speaking on the campaign, the Chief Operating Officer, Mottainai Recycling Ltd, Ms Oluwaseun Fashukanmi explained that besides drawing the attention of the public to the immense financial opportunities of waste recycling, the public also needs to be aware of the threats of waste and pollution to human life and the survival of the ecosystem.
Oluwakayode Banjo
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