The Ogun State Waste Management Authority (OGWAMA) has sealed an automobile assembly plant, Carry Heavy Industry Limited (CHIL), located at Moloko-Asipa near Abeokuta, for allegedly engaging in illegal waste burning in violation of the state environmental law.
The company, which specialises in the production of heavy-duty and passenger vehicles, was shut down for contravening Section 2b(a) of the OGWAMA law that prohibits open burning of waste in Ogun State.
Speaking on the development, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Waste Management and Managing Director of OGWAMA, Hon. Farouk Akintunde, said the authority was left with no option but to close the facility after repeated warnings to the management failed to yield compliance.
Akintunde explained that the company had consistently refused to engage government-approved Waste Private Sector Participants (PSPs) for proper waste disposal, opting instead to burn waste materials within its premises.
According to him, the practice exposed workers and residents in neighbouring communities to severe health and environmental hazards caused by toxic emissions.
“By burning their waste, they caused air pollution through toxic emissions and posed serious health risks not only to their workers but also to vulnerable residents living around the facility. This is unacceptable to the state government, which places high priority on the wellbeing of the people,” he said.
He added that the factory would remain sealed until the management complies fully with the state’s environmental regulations by registering with approved waste PSP operators for lawful waste disposal.
Akintunde warned that any further violation of the law would attract stricter legal sanctions.
Meanwhile, OGWAMA has also sanctioned Camellin Industry Limited, located along the Sagamu Interchange axis of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, for a similar offence.
The agency disclosed that the company was found culpable of indiscriminate waste burning, an act described as harmful to both workers and the surrounding environment.
Akintunde revealed that the management of the company had been summoned to the OGWAMA office to explain why further sanctions or prosecution should not be instituted against the firm.
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