Lagos tasks abattoir, slaughterhouses operators on conversion of animal waste

Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tunji Bello, made the call during a one day workshop on environmental management in abattoirs and slaughterhouses in Lagos State, with the theme: “Circular Economy: Conversion of Abattoir Waste to wealth, “ held at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Alausa, Ikeja.

Bello, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services, Dr. Omobolaji Gaji, said such global challenges, which need to be tackled include climate change, biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, pollution amongst others.

He explained that routine monitoring of the abattoirs and slaughterhouses/slabs by officials of the Ministry has established that over 3,000 cattle are slaughtered daily in over 50 identified slaughter slabs/houses across the state.

According to him, it has been observed that operators of these facilities often have difficulties in disposing, treating and processing the waste generated in an environmentally acceptable manner thereby allowing untreated wastewater to eventually find its way into the natural water bodies.

He stressed that poor handling of other wastes such as the Cow dung, bones, blood and others result in different degrees of environmental degradation and pollution.

The commissioner added that poor animal waste management contributed to environmental pollution such as underground water pollution, air pollution, odour nuisance, soil pollution leading to transmission of diseases to humans.

He said the accumulation of cow dung, paunch contents and bones would encourage the build-up of methane gas, a greenhouse gas that causes depletion of the ozone layer and invariably causes global warming.

“ The consequence of the poor management of waste from the operations of the abattoir facilities constitute a high risk to the sustainability of the environment as well as public health.

“ The present administration led by Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has proactively put the issues of the environment at a very prominent place in its policy thrust and has remained committed to it,” he added.

Earlier, representative of the Permanent Secretary, Director of Sanitation Services Department, Dr. Hassan Sanuth, said the workshop was designed to educate and encourage participants to adopt best available methods in the management of operational by-products and eliminate the negative impacts of abattoir operations on the environment.

He urged everyone to make efforts to ensure that the environment that would be bequeathed to future generations remains as livable as people are living in it today or try to improve on it.

In her lecture, the guest lecturer, Dr. Margret Owolabi, who spoke on the topic, “Converting bone and blood to viable products”, said an average yield of 10 -20kg of blood can be derived from one cow, saying that cow blood is very high in nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium.

She said animal blood can be used as fertilizers as well as mixed with animal feed, while bone is also made into gelatin, glue and bone meal, adding that abattoir operators need to collaborate with investors for high tech value addition for local and export purposes.

She concluded that efficient treatment of animal by-products encourages rapid hygienic disposal of waste, thus avoiding decomposition and formation of obnoxious odour.