The Abia State Ministry of Environment has outlawed the usage of Styrofoam foils, also known as ‘Take Away’.
On Saturday, the ministry issued a statement signed by the Commissioner for Environment, Philemon Ogbonna, stating that the use of the items as food containers is prohibited in the state.
He added that Take Away had previously been outlawed in various states, including Lagos, and recommended the public to stop using the foils immediately until further investigations into the product’s risks to public health were completed.
Meanwhile, some defaulters were detained and sanctioned on Saturday in Umuahia as part of the state’s January 2024 Clean Up effort.
The defaulters, who were apprehended in certain areas of the state capital during environmental sanitation hours, were detected dealing or loitering in violation of the government’s previous instructions.
However, the clean-up saw a high degree of compliance, with many households cleaning their gutters while trucks provided by the state government evacuated created garbage.