The Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA) is partnering with the Mayor of Housing, My-Ace China, to establish additional refuse collection centres across Port Harcourt to curb indiscriminate dumping and improve environmental sanitation.
The agency’s Managing Director, Dr Ibimina Wokoma, disclosed this on Wednesday when he received My-Ace China and his team at RIWAMA’s office in Port Harcourt.
The initiative is expected to address the growing practice of dumping refuse on road medians in Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor, as existing waste collection facilities struggle to meet the needs of the expanding population.
My-Ace China said the partnership was part of his commitment to restoring Port Harcourt’s Garden City status and promoting Rivers State as a tourism destination.
He described roadside refuse dumping as alarming and stressed the need for designated collection points to ensure proper waste disposal and evacuation.
The real estate strategist also pledged to support RIWAMA’s sensitisation campaign across the state and disclosed that his Alesa Highland Estate project would incorporate waste segregation and recycling.
Wokoma said RIWAMA had constructed several refuse receptacles and was working with private organisations and institutions, including Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, to provide more.
He said the agency welcomed partnerships, noting that increasing urban development and population growth had led to higher waste generation.
Wokoma added that the first phase of the new collection centres would begin in a few days and extend across the city.
Residents were urged to use the green- and blue-coloured RIWAMA collection points and desist from dumping refuse on road medians.
