Kano Cracks Down on Traders Dumping Waste on Roads and Drains

(Roadside Dumping. Photo by Peoples Gazzete)

The Kano State Refuse Management and Sanitation Board has cautioned roadside traders and commercial operators against haphazard waste disposal along thoroughfares and within drainage infrastructure.

Managing Director Dr Muhammad Salisu-Khalil issued the advisory through a statement released by the board’s Public Relations Officer on Tuesday.

The board emphasised that vendors engaged in preparing and selling roasted and boiled maize and other food commodities along major thoroughfares must establish waste receptacles at their business locations to ensure proper refuse management from operational activities.

Operators conducting business along France Road, Katsina Road, Maiduguri Road, Zaria Road and Zoo Road were specifically directed to maintain adequate sanitation standards.

The statement noted that certain maize vendors discard maize husks, cobs and related organic waste directly onto roads and into drainage systems, practices that obstruct waterway flow, promote refuse accumulation and generate environmental contamination.

Although the board executes daily street sweeping, refuse extraction and environmental sanitation initiatives throughout the state, it expressed frustration that traders frequently deposit waste materials in areas shortly following completion of sanitation operations.

The board characterised such conduct as counterproductive to governmental efforts maintaining environmental cleanliness and public health, underscoring that environmental sanitation constitutes collective responsibility spanning all residents and business operators.

The board pledged continued enforcement of environmental sanitation ordinances through lawful procedures, warning that non-compliant individuals will face judicial prosecution before specialised environmental sanitation courts.

The board clarified that its enforcement mission does not aim to restrict commercial activities but rather to ensure business operations occur within frameworks promoting cleanliness and environmental stewardship.