Kelvin Osa Okunbor
THE Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) in conjunction with a Lagos based social enterprise Mitimeth on Tuesday, commenced the third edition of the water hyacinth recycling initiative where 100 rural women were trained on the economic benefits of recycling hyacinth weed.
LASWA General Manager, Oluwadamilola Emmanuel who spoke in an interview at the Ikorodu Ferry Jetty said the agency put the programme together as a window to create waste to wealth for the youth, women and others, turning the menace of water hyacinth into sustainable lifestyle and fashion for people in coastal communities with requisite skills to transform the hyacinth into valuable handicraft materials.
Rather than lament over the menace of water hyacinth and its attendant effects on Lagos waterways, Emmanuel said LASWA is collaborating with other agencies to harvest weed from hyacinth and convert them into materials including bags, mats, notebook cover, hand-basket, furniture items and textile decorations.
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According to the LASWA General Manager, water hyacinth cannot be eradicated but could be controlled through harvesting into new materials and valuable products.
He described water hyacinth as one of the fastest-growing weed across the globe infesting water bodies in over 50 countries.
Hyacinth, he said reproduces every two weeks and thrives in polluted waters. “It is a renewable resource but also an environmental menace and threat to biodiversity.”
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