The Lagos State Government yesterday said at least 24 religious outfits were shut in year 2014 for contravening the state guidelines on noise pollution.

The state government further said the new Material Recovery Facility, would be established to capture the huge waste generated daily and boost the Waste-to-wealth programme in the state.

Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello and General Manager of the Lagos State Environment Protection, (LASEPA) Mr Ademola Shabi, an engineer, disclosed this at the 2015 ministerial press briefing held in Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja.

Shabi reeling out the activities of his agency in the year under review added that 13 industries were shut for violating the environmental guidelines set by the government.

He lamented that the pollution generated daily in the state was increasing and the government must embark on measures to reduce it, adding; “We received over 1, 000 petitions in the year under review. But we have been able to resolve some and some have relocated.”

According to him, “We have shut about 24 religious outfits in the last one year because they failed to adhere to the state guidelines on noise pollution.”

The General Manager explained: “These religious outfits contribute about 50 percent of the noise pollution in the state. In the last few years, we have been having problem to control noise from these outfits. We have been able to shut them down while some have relocated from the community where they were.”

•Adapted from Vanguard. Photo shows Fashola.