The Apapa Branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) says it has begun to deploy new technology on waste management in Lagos State.
Branch chairman, Mr Christian Ufot, announced this during the monthly general meeting of the branch in Lagos on Wednesday, June 30, 2021.
Ufot, therefore, appealed to Lagos residents to support governments’ effort to avert flooding.
He said that the NSE was collaborating with a private technology firm to develop an app on waste management in Lagos State.
He also called for attitudinal change among residents who usually used drainage channels as refuse cans.
The branch chairman acknowledged that the state government was currently cleaning some major canals.
“But some residents have formed the habit of pouring refuse into gutters, whenever it rained, for it to be washed away without realising the damage.
“Such wastes usually end up clogging the canals and the lagoon to cause flooding and compound other environmental issues,’’ he said.
According to him, such activities often frustrate government’s efforts by wasting revenue used for cleaning drainage channels while also causing damage to roads and hardship to other residents.
“I see equipment clearing canals all around but our people need to change from habit of pouring trash into gutters, on the roads and anyhow.’’
Ufot said that the long-term goal of the NSE is to create several waste-to-wealth value chains to make refuse a money spinner and job opportunities while making the environment habitable.
“By the time someone realises that refuse he wants to dispose indiscriminately is money, he will have a rethink and support recycling,’’ the chairman noted.
He said that the technological partnership had reached an advanced stage and that the state government would be brought in to ensure proper waste management.
Ufot, who assumed office in October 2020, highlighted some achievements of the branch within the financial year to included lectures on how to promote entrepreneurial engineering for rapid industrialisation of Nigeria.
He said the branch made recommendations that resolved the Apapa gridlock, training of many young engineers and ensuring welfare of NSE members.
Ufot also recalled that in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the branch organised public lectures, technical sessions, workshops, industrial visitations, courtesy visits, welfare activities and corporate social responsibility.
He said that the NSE financial year spans from July 1 to June 30 of the following year.
By Grace Alegba
