In the pre-colonial days when population
was less, refuse generated was quite
minimal this was wither, buried, thrown into the river, burnt or thrown
into deep pit and also used as a manure for agriculture. In the
colonial and past days incinerators where built and used in combination
of the abovre named methods. Until 1st
October 1996 when Ebonyi State was
created out of the present Enugu and Abia State. On creation in 1996, Ebonyi was best with myriad of
environmental problems ranging from inadequate environmental education and awareness campaign, poor personal and environmental hygiene.
Every street
was adorned by heaps of refuse
wheile the state capital (Iyiudele and
Iyokwu) were converted to dumping ground for domestic waste and
human faces. Infact it is one record that the world youth
soccer championship slated for Nigeria in 1995 was cancelled because of out
break of cholera (product of filthy environment) in Abakaliki. The deplorable environmental condition of
Abakaliki necessitated the setting up of the Ebonyi State Environmental
Protection Agency (EBSEPA) on 6th December,
1996 barely a month after the
appointment of the pioneer military administrator, commander Walter
Feghabo for the young state.
Recently, the waste management sector, the agency, (EBSEPA) has achieved
sustained and routine clearance of
wastes in the capital city and its environments. Daily and monthly refuse collection and
disposal are in practice within the Ebonyi State Environment, particularly,
Abakaliki Urban. The agency introduced
standard plastic dustbin for waste collection and evacuation. They are also
involved with house-to-house sanitary inspection and waste collection.
The agency
mapped out dumping sites in various strategic locations, some which were along
water works road, new layout primary school,
Nkaliki Road, Goddy Ogbaga Road, St. Patrick church Kpirikpiri and also final disposal point located along
Enugu Abakaliki express way near Sperando junction. Waste
disposal in abakaliki urban does not
follow the conventional method such as sanitary landfill, incineration
compositing and recycling due to lack of
funds, equipments, etc. what is obtainable
in the content of refuse
disposal, is simple a transfer of refuse from one point to another. Waste
accumulated in designated dumping areas
are usually carried away in an open trucks and transfer to areas not being inhabited by people.
Duping continues until dry season when some of
the waste becomes dry and can
burn. After burning, a
caterpillar would be made to level the area before fresh soil is used for final covering. The agency currently is researching on conversion
of waste to wealth (Ukpah, 2010).