Some weeks back, we all made posts on pollution. We talked about the different types of pollution that plagued our big cities. There were various suggestions then on how to curb this, all of which would have been effective if the government took them into effect.
But then, there is yet another solution that could work and be even beneficial, not just to the government but to the people as well. And I mean financially beneficial. And what method is this? What else other than recycling?
When you take strolls through the streets of Lagos, both in the rural areas and the urban areas, you will see various degrees of pollution. They will be on the streets, in the gutters, in canals, and what have you…
Most of the time, this pollution is made up of plastics. From bottles to plates to nylons and whatnot. These are all plastics in various degrees, and when they are dumped on the road, they can be there for decades without decaying simply because they are non-biodegradable.
And what are the effects of these? Our waterways are blocked, from the gutters to the canals. These plastics become obstructions and these lead to serious flooding that can make the matters worse. Sometimes the reason for flooding is not bad roads, it can be something as basic as pollution, and poorly managed drainage systems.
So, in this case, what is the government meant to do?
It is quite simple. When you think about it, there is nothing complex about the entire thing.
- First of all, they are to build factories all over the country. These factories will be in charge of recycling used plastics into other forms that can be purchased by other companies. For instance, they will take an empty bottle of water that has already been discarded by a person, and then recycle it into raw material for nylon bags which they will then sell to the nylon-making factory. There are already factories like these in the country, but they are too far apart and people do not really know about them. So when the government gets involved, they will orient the people on it and therefore get them more interested.
- To get the people to take an active part in this, they can make it financially profitable for the masses. And this will be done by the factories buying the used bottles from the people. At a little amount, the factories will buy the used plastics, based on whatever scale they would be using. Then when they recycle it, they would sell off the new product to yet another factory for profit. If something like this is in place, I can imagine people no longer throwing their empty bottles or discarded plastics away, and even if they do throw them away there are other people who will pick them up because that bottle could fetch them some money even though it may be little. As in, people will go into the gutters and canals and fish out plastics, wash them all up and take them to the factories themselves. As long as it is legitimate and it will give them money, I am sure there will be people that will not mind the dirty work.
As you can see, these steps will greatly reduce the pollution of the land. Soon, plastic will become gold and you won’t be seeing it tossed anyhow on the road. People will keep it and store it well until they have gathered enough to sell. The gutters and canals will flow freely once more because the bottles that had once blocked them are now cleared.
As I said, there are already factories that buy used plastic from people. If you go to a beach in Lagos, preferably towards nighttime, you will see people with bags, picking up empty bottles that fun-seekers and tourists had dropped. When they are done, they will take their loot and sell them. Making cool cash.
We just need more of these factories; they should be easily accessible to everyone so that you can go there and sell your used plastic. I am sure that if we can adopt this method that is not even difficult at all, then the issue of flooding will reduce greatly. Although it will require some financial commitment upfront, in the long run there will also be profits for the government, the people, and the factories. Everyone is happy.
So, I hope this is something that can be implemented. Not just in my dear country Nigeria, but all over the world, wherever they are battling issues with plastic as well.
Thank you for reading, till we meet in the next post.
Borderimage Credit: @deimage.
It is very important for our environment and very useful post dear
Very important indeed.
Thank you for reading.
This is really informative, you need to see the number of plastic bottles in our gutters and even in the rivers, if only these were recycled...
It is bad indeed, too bad in fact.
Once we have more recycling factories in place, this will be a thing of the past.
Thank you for sharing this with us.
Plastic is a very scary thing that is spreading all over the world. Thank you very much for sharing your opinion with us.