By Raymond Ozoji, Awka
The Anambra State Branch of Waste Pickers Association of Nigeria(WAPAN) has decried incessant harassments, molestations and indiscriminate arrests of waste pickers doing their legitimate duties of picking and recycling wastes in the state.
The association has also observed that Anambra State doesn't have adequate waste recycling facilities to make their jobs less cumbersome.
Speaking at a partnership stakeholders meeting involving TechnoServe, USAID, Coca Cola Foundation and other partners at Hilton Leisure Hotel Awka, Anambra representative of WAPAN Mr. Gabriel Cole who stood in for the National President, said WAPAN is registered with the Federal Government of Nigeria with the core mandate of organizing, promoting and protecting waste pickers across the 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja.
WAPAN maintained that plastic waste is a challenge in the country, stressing that the scourge of plastic pollution affected the environment drastically and with dire health consequences.
The Anambra WAPAN representative highlighted challenges facing waste pickers to include lack of recognition by state authorities. He also mentioned that Anambra State generated a significant amount of plastic wastes daily and the current infrastructure struggle to keep pace with the quantum of wastes seems a mirage.
He said it is on record that waste pickers remove about 70% of recyclable wastes from Anambra State and across Nigeria. That harassments from state authorities is another very problematic issue.
That waste pickers are often harassed, arrested and detained by state authorities and security agencies while carrying out their daily lawful activities.
WAPAN held that lack of awareness is another problem to contend with. He said many Anambra citizens are not fully aware of the environmental and health hazards posed by plastic wastes, adding that lack of awareness hampers efforts to encourage responsible waste disposals and recycling in the state.
WAPAN therefore maintained that insufficient waste recycling facilities is another stumbling block. That Anambra State doesn't have adequate recycling facilities as the gap meant that much of the plastic wastes ended up on landways, waterways and what have you.
WAPAN however suggested aggressive awareness campaigns for waste pickers to engender adequate recognitions for them even as they also pleaded for government to come to their aide by providing somewhere they can properly sort wastes picked from the State.
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