The Street Conference is an annual event by SustyVibes which takes place in selected locations across the country. This year, the Street Conference in Abuja was held at Utako Motor Park, Jabi.
The Susty Street conferences are organized in commemoration of world clean up day. This global event holds across 190 countries, in a bid to build a more sustainable world for all and enable the environment to heal from the adverse effects of the indiscriminate disposal of waste items.
EVENT ACTIVITIES:
We gathered at Conoil filling station, adjacent to Utako Motor Park. The Utako Motor Park is located in Jabi, off Jabi/Airport Road in Abuja. It is known for its busy nature; there, you would find commercial vehicles going to all the country’s geo-political zones with passengers boarding vehicles to those zones. Dispatch services are also offered to various parts of the country, be it parcels or goods.
Introductory remarks were given at 9:00 am by Chikodi Uzoamaka, who welcomed and briefed participants about the World Clean-Up and the goals of the campaign. Participants were allowed to introduce themselves and were oriented on engaging workers, passengers and shop owners in the park. Representatives from partner organisations also gave brief remarks about their organisation and expectations from the exercise.
At exactly 9:20 am, Safety kits and working materials (hand gloves, Masks, sanitizers, bin bags, rakes, shovels, pickers, placards etc.) were distributed to everyone present, and the clean-up exercise began immediately.
Volunteers were split into three groups, one embarked on advocacy, sensitising and engaging people on the impact of pollution and proper waste disposal. While the second group cleaned up and separated wastes into the recyclables bins and general wastes bin, the third group, intervibes, interviewed people by asking questions on climate change and waste disposal. On the side, we had our team of photographers taking pictures.
The team from Ecobarter talked to people in the park about recycling, informing them that they don’t just recycle plastics but also nylons, assuring the people the ease of accessing them, that they do not have to bring the waste to their recycling company, Ecobarter comes and picks it up.
Participants did a wonderful job sensitising and picking up the waste in the park appropriately. The intervibes team did a good job also interviewing passengers and workers in the park.
PARTNERS AND VOLUNTEERS:
We partnered with both Government owned and private organizations to make this event a success and drive greater impact. Our amazing partners who supported and worked hard to make this event as wonderful as it was in Abuja are; Ecobarter, Impulse Recycling, Youth Initiative for Africa, Abuja Environmental Protection Board (A.E.P.B.), Ecowariors, Action Aid, Youth Hub Africa and Trash Monger.
We also had 65 volunteers who worked their magic at the Abuja Street conference, some of which also came from our partners, they worked so hard to ensure that the event was a success, and it indeed was.
IMPACT:
The exercise lasted for an hour, after which participants realised 3 kilograms of recyclable plastic materials and general waste. Photographs were taken in batches, and then different organizations/supporters were photographed with their teams. The Abuja Environmental Protection Board (A.E.P.B.) was on hand to collect the non-recyclable waste.
CLOSING:
Volunteers shared their feedback and recommendations. There were group photographs and light refreshments. The exercise ended at 11:34 am.
FEEDBACK
- Union Workers and shop owners commended the efforts of the groups that embarked on the World Clean-up campaign. They also called for the groups and government to work towards addressing littering in the park and improving the environment.
- Union workers, passengers and shop owners know the basic concept of the environment and its benefits to human health. They are also aware of the negative impact of pollution on human health and the environment.
- Workers in the park admitted they have a measure role to play in addressing the littering and called for the government to do more about the disposal and collection of waste.
- Workers in the park complained that such exercises are not done often but yearly.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- The Federal Capital Territory, through its agencies, the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) and Satellite Town Development Department, should work with park management to create a system for proper waste collection and disposal.
- The Federal Capital Territory Authority needs to carry out aggressive sensitisation in parks on climate and environmental pollution.
- The Federal Capital Territory Authority should provide intervention funds to build proper toilets with hand washing facilities in the park.
- The Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) should ensure proper waste cans are positioned strategically in the park.
- Sustyvibes campaign on Cleanup should be done more often.