George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
The Imo State Government has banned the use of polytene bags in the state as part of its efforts for a cleaner and healthier environment.
The Chairman of the State Sanitation Committee and former governor of the state, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, stated this on Saturday after monitoring this month’s state environmental sanitation exercise within Owerri the capital city with officials of the State Environmental Transformation Commission (ENTRACO), led by the General Manager, Alex Emeziem.
Chief Ohakim said that his committee had already desilted 16,000 km of roads with drainages previously blocked by refuse cleared of such refuse, adding that the use of polytene bags to dispose refuse had been banned in the state with immediate effect.
He warned road side/street traders to relocate to markets or be prepared to face the full weight of the law.
“From now henceforth, nobody is allowed to use polytene bags in this state to dispose refuse and anybody who dumps refuse in unauthorised places will henceforth be sanctioned accordingly,” he warned.
The former governor commended Governor Emeka Ihedioha for providing new dump sites in the three senatorial zones of Owerri, Okigwe and Orlu and enjoined the residents to make maximum use of the facilities.
ENTRACO General Manager Alex Emezie disclosed that the state government had acquired new equipment and trucks and would soon commence with the door-to-door garbage collection system to stem the ugly tide of environmental pollution in the state.
Emeziem, a former member of the state House of Assembly, added that his commission had divided the state into 12 zones and would engage qualified refuse vendors to collect waste materials in any part of the state and dump them at designated sites.
“By next week, we will finish the selection of vendors who will be collecting refuse in the state from the zones created so that if there are any lapses we will know who to hold responsible,” he concluded.