The ancient city was literally being overwhelmed by refuse due to total disregard for environmental cleanliness by many, despite the monthly sanitation exercise for which previous governments had been voting millions of naira.

At a point, it got so bad that the eyesores constituted by refuse heaps became common topic for discussion and readily caught the eyes of visitors to major streets and markets in Benin.

In fact, it has been said also that one of the reasons the chairman of one of the local councils in the Benin City metropolis was suspended was his inability to evacuate refuse in the markets in the council.

Efforts by previous governments to tackle the problem of waste management in Benin had not yielded the desired results.

But then, what has proved to be a change for the better arrived with the assumption of office of Adams Oshiomhole, who had promised during the campaigns that he would find a lasting solution to the problem.

As part of activities marking its one-year in office, the state government launched a new waste management scheme in the state- Edo State Sustainable Integrated Waste Management Programme (ESIWMP).

It is in collaboration with the private sector for which the government acquired 30 waste disposal trucks with 1,700 persons employed at various segments of the project.

Quotes from the Governor.

"This is part of the public private partnership approach to dealing with public sector issues,"

"This government believes that the challenge of keeping Edo State clean cannot be reduced to monthly symbolism in which every last Saturday of the month, you shut down the economy, force people to sleep a little longer in the name of cleaning the streets and cleaning the drainage.

"I have made the point that the challenge of keeping the city clean, the challenge of keeping the state clean will be a daily business and that, that business is capable of generating good jobs."

"I also know that we are bringing in industrial sweepers.

I hope Action Congress (AC) people would understand because we are replacing the broom with a mechanical broom and I know that AC broom is something that we celebrate.

"But I assure you that it does not devalue the power of the broom in our daily lives, it is just that the challenge of keeping the streets and industrial premises clean is better handled these days with more modern equipment and you can achieve results faster".

The State Commissioner for the Environment, Prince Clem Agba said[i] N600 million have been committed to the project part of which he said would be for the procurement two mechanical road sweepers, forty-eight 10 metres large waste receptacles, three roll-on roll-off hoist trucks, two tipper trucks, two compacting trucks, 350 1100L waste bins and 500 street litter bins.[/i]

He said the second phase of the programme would begin next year with the setting up of two additional dumpsites in Benin, the waste-to-wealth through re-cycling and the production of compost manure.

"In addition, other parts of the state would benefit from the new waste management system," Agba said

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