The Government of Bayelsa State on Saturday said it plans a waste recycling plant to turn waste to wealth to give the environment a new lease of life and discourage indiscriminate dumping of refuse.

Chairman of the State Environmental Sanitation Authority, Chief Robert Enogha, unveiled the plan when he appeared on the Correspondents Platform of the Federated Correspondents’ Chapel of the NUJ, in Yenagoa.

He said the authority has received four major presentations from interested investors wishing to establish waste recycling plants in the state.

According to him, the preferred investor was selected because all the equipment needed for the setting up of the plant would be fabricated in Bayelsa with the prospect to also generate over 250 jobs in the state.

The chairman, who came into office in March 2016, said he is leaving no stone unturned to make sure the state capital and its environs enjoy good sanitary system.

He noted that public support was crucial saying if the level of compliance from the people is encouraging, the sanitation authority will also bring in some new innovation into the system.

He said the era of using force by revenue task force to collect levies and taxes has become a thing of the past as the authority is also working hard to educate and re-orientate their staff on how to relate with the public.

Enogha noted that imposters claiming to be staff of the authority were a major challenge that tarnished the image of the organisation but assured that he will not be deterred.

He therefore called on the public to be wary of people using fake sanitation authority identity cards to intimidate or harass them and that such illegal activities should be reported to the government through appropriate authorities.

“The refuse dumps in the state capital would be properly managed and the dump sites would be at least cleared once in every month.

“We have already licensed some private refuse managers to evacuate wastes from households.

“It is a form of job generation and ultimately, the volume of refuse coming to the receptacles has reduced significantly. The drainage system is also receiving attention to avoid flooding,” he said.

The sanitation authority Chairman said all landlords in Yenagoa have been given two months ultimatum to provide toilet facilities in their homes to ensure good hygiene and sanitary system for residents.

•Photo shows Governor Dickson.

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