Jewel Environmental Initiative (JEI), an NGO says it has embarked on waste-to-wealth training for youths in Gombe State to reduce the huge non-biodegradable materials from the environment while empowering youths.
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Mr Ismail Bima, the Chief Executive Officer of the NGO told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Gombe that such training had become imperative in view of the huge plastic and nylon wastes in drainages.
Bima said that it was part of the responsibilities of the environmentalists to fashion out ideas that would help rescue the environment from the increasing abuse and pollution “that is almost becoming a norm’’.
He said that the training was aimed at reducing the large quantities of plastic and water sachets in drainages ahead of the rainy season which often led to serious environmental hazards like flooding and erosion.
According to him, the initiative is a win-win for both youths and environmental advocates in the state as it involves the reduction of wastes, inculcating the culture of good waste management system, while creating jobs for youths.
“Most of our wastes in gutters are water sachets and plastic materials; so we are carrying out the training to reduce those huge wastes in our drainages ahead of raining season while empowering youths to be self-reliant.
“We pay youths who retrieve these sachets from our environment and also go to sachet water production companies to source for sachet, melt them and use them with sands to make interlocking blocks.
“So far, we started in Yamaltu-Deba where we trained over 30 corps members; we have also trained 81 students from Government Girls College, Doma and recently another 15 youths.
“Today, we have offers from different organisations from Bauchi state, Plateau, Ogun, Kogi, Oyo and Abuja. So many youths are interested because the materials are easy to get. This is good for our environment,’’ he said.
While decrying the indiscriminate dumping of wastes in drainages, Bima cautioned woman against burning of plastic for cooking purposes, adding “ this is having serious adverse effects on the environment and their health.’’
He appealed to relevant agencies and private bodies to sponsor the youths so that more of them could be trained to cover the 11 Local Government Areas of the state and have a cleaner Gombe State.
He also charged youths to make themselves available to be trained to acquire the needed skills to become self-reliant and create jobs for themselves instead of waiting for white collar jobs not readily available.