The national financial secretary of the Waste Pickers Association of Nigeria (WAPAN), Comrade Usman Bakawu has reiterated the need for international standard in waste management practices in Nigeria.

Speaking on the sidelines of the inaugural Annual General Meeting of the Waste Pickers Association of Nigeria (WAPAN), held in Abuja, recently, he decried the present poor state of waste management practice in Nigeria which affect the way waste workers are being viewed in the country.

He assured Nigerians that WAPAN has commenced the process of rebranding and standardizing waste picking practice in Nigeria. He said henceforth, registered waste pickers will be on uniforms with tags and have identity cards as part of the efforts to filter out the bad eggs from the good ones in the business.

He said, ‘‘It’s a new beginning for the business of waste picking in Nigeria. Henceforth, registered waste pickers will have to register properly. Before anyone can be registered in our association as a waste picker, he will need to bring two guarantors including a traditional ruler. We believe that a traditional ruler knows people in his community and can identify the bad ones and the good ones. The second guarantor must be a good Nigerian citizen.

‘‘The government should see waste management as a good source of revenue and therefore provide resources to making it work.’’

He also said that waste pickers should be seen as respectable citizens and not criminals. He explained that waste pickers are Resource Recovery Agents (RRA) who desire to channel waste into a source of income as well as turning waste to a brand-new product.