This is a personal account provided to WasteAid through our eyewitness campaign.

Please describe the waste situation where you live.

The waste collection situation is not impressive. Many houses are not covered in the collection plan, so they need to dump their waste at the road side, in free land or at uncompleted buildings.

Do people have to take their waste somewhere or is it collected and taken away from people’s homes? Is it transported by hand, cart or motor vehicle?

Many people are not happy with the waste managers because their programme only covers the high class area.  The common people and the poor are left out to dump their waste anyhow, it is a sorry case.

How do most people deal with their waste? Are they generally happy with the situation or not? Why?

Some buried their waste, some used to burnt there waste, while others dump it at the roadside where it causes the spread of malaria.

Do you reduce your waste at home?

First I and my family look about the package of things before purchased, this give us way to select our waste, or separate our waste. I recycle plastic waste and give paper waste to those who need it.

Are you aware of problems caused by waste where you live?

Yes the waste sometimes blocks drainage and causes floods in the town. Also epidemics are caused by the poor way of managing waste.

In my area Apete when the drainage have block the bridge has to collapse.

Eyewitness: Oluwole Ojetunde in Ibadan, Nigeria

Eyewitness: Oluwole Ojetunde in Ibadan, Nigeria

Are there any good things happening with waste that you would like to share?

There is no any good things, this causes problem to the sea and to the climate.

If you could make one change in how waste is managed, what would it be and why?

Educate the people on how to manage their waste and train them on small scale waste recycling, so the every poor women will be involved in cleaning their environment to generate income for their family.

Who do you think is responsible for improving the waste situation?

The general public and the government. If the lay man know what to do with his waste to generate income for him, he will do it.

Imagine the year is 2030 and we are looking back at how humans solved the waste challenge. How did we do it? What do you think made the biggest impact?

The biggest impact is for the government for support financially all the NGOs on waste recycling, this include all company to be mandatory to support this project so that we can live in clean and safe environment.

Final comments:

WasteAid are doing wonderful thing in impact the knowledge to general public on the advantage of plastic waste management and recycling.

One other things is to have their representative in all country.

Thank you Oluwole, for contributing your eyewitness account of the waste problem in Nigeria.

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