I was stayed with an Aunty whose waste disposal system was shocking. After accumulating waste, she had to wait till dark to dispose in a nearby bush. Confronting her, I tried to reason with her and tell the dangers of such actions. Someday the bush would get filled with the trash and flow back to her house during flood. She laughed it off and told me to stop taking the matter serious.
At one point, I attended a conference that had the late Gamaliel Onosode speak. The first thing he did before addressing the audience, was to pick the refuse around the stage and close by. He had instill something deep that you have to practice what you preach. Talking is not a enough.
Being an environmentalist, I always advocate for clean environment. One that is devoid of all forms of pollution, climatic stable and safe. So I have been there before to throw waste indiscriminately but that is unfair to nature.
At least we have been guilty of throwing waste out of a moving vehicle with the hope that the breeze will make them settle somewhere. Since I became intentional of creating a clean environament, I have stopped throwing trash anyhow. Whenever I’m in a bus caught in traffic and I buy something to eat ,instead of throwing the waste through the window, I have started keeping it in my bag to dispose properly at home.
Imagine if everything other person does same. That is they are conscious of their waste disposal habits, a clean healthy environment is possible. We know how the city can be an eyesore and unpleasant, but we have in one way or other contributed to the problem.
Before now, Lagos State used to have monthly environmental sanitation. That was a good initiative. Now that there are waste disposal agencies, it is easier to keep clean. However, in our circle and space, are we taking the necessary precautions to make the environment clean?