By Charity Odoh
Research has shown that each household generates 0.002% of waste per day which includes organic and Inorganic. Globally, millions of tons of household generate solid waste every day.
It has become a norm for every household or Individual to dispose of waste in an improper way such as disposing of directly in drainages or erosion paths or by the roadsides which in turn endangers the health and poses a threat to the environment at large.
Medical research has brought to the limelight that lots of waste generated such as liquid-solid or gases which are further categorized into municipal, hazardous, biomedical, and special hazardous waste has a way of contributing to health and environmental challenges in the society.
Waste, irrespective of the form it takes has been proven to contain disease-causing organism known as pathogens. This literarily means that every waste is capable of affecting our health negatively.
Wastes are believed to be carriers of disease like parasitic infections, lung infections, skin infections, candida among others. Looking beyond the risk it poses on health, it is pertinent to also note that waste has a negative effect on the environment.
In recent years, it has been observed that the climate keeps changing as a result of deflation in ozone layers which is otherwise caused by the release of waste in form of dangerous and harmful gas into the atmosphere. Thereby making the environment get dangerous daily.
Also, waste is thrown or disposed of in drainages or erosion paths sometimes prevents the free flow of water and easy passage of erosion. For example, in Nigeria, it has become a costume for people to start bringing out their waste products and disposing them in the drainages at the slight drop of rain with the aim of getting it swept away by the rain. This action consequently leads to blockage of erosion paths and bridges thereby resulting in flooding which might eventually dispose of people of their homes and render them homeless.
In other to curb every hazardous activity of waste disposal, the government should employ waste management strategies such as the collection of waste and proper disposal of it by private bodies, recycling recyclable materials such as glass, paper, cardboard, metal and the likes.
In addition, proper sanitation facilities like toilets and latrines and the provision of communal trash bins should be made available at strategic places. Enforcement of sanitation bodies should also be put in place as a way of curbing illegal waste disposal.
It is generally believed that ignorance kills faster than a virus. In view of this, Adequate Education and awareness programs should be made available to the people on the danger and threats of improper waste disposal as well as the benefits of taking proper and good care of their environment.
Charity Odoh is a 200 Level Mass Communication Student of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State
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