Dr Ademola Adeogun, a public health physician, has urged manufacturing companies, households and the general public to carefully manage their wastes, to maintain healthy environment amid the rainy season.
Adeogun, who works with the Isolo General Hospital, Lagos, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Tuesday.
He said that a wide range of diseases could be contracted and spread through an unclean and contaminated environment.
The doctor, therefore, called for proper waste management by companies and households, to curtail the problem of arbitrary disposal of toxic and solid wastes that polluted the environment.
According to him, due to the hazardous nature of chemicals from industrial activities, there is need for companies to go the extra mile to dispose the effluents appropriately.
“Manufacturing processes can generate chemical wastes which can be toxic and pose threats to the environment and human health.
“To safeguard the environment and prevent the spread of diseases, manufacturing industries should look for a way to recycle their wastes because all waste is recyclable.
“Residue should be channeled into the effluent treatment plants where it will be treated and re-used, and this can form an additional source of income.
“Appropriate identification, collection, separation, transportation, treatment, and disposal, as well as other important associated aspects including disinfection are parts of effective waste management,” Adeogun said.
The Physician expressed concerns that improper management and disposal of wastes would pollute the environment and block drainage channels, causing floods.
He stressed that industries that do not have effluent treatment plant should endeavour to get one or be registered with waste management authorities.
Adeogun said that households should have septic tanks for wastes at the front of their homes .
“The public need to desist from the ugly act of disposing wastes into the drainage canals, particularly during the rainy season.
“Trees and forest should not be cut or burnt – they are natural components that make the environment beautiful,” he said.
Adeogun noted that the safety of the environment is a collective responsibility of everybody in the society and should not be left to the state government alone.
He advised households and the general public to obey environmental regulations, to help the government actualise its efforts in ensuring a safe and healthy environment.
