Fri, 11 Aug 2017 13:22:05 +0000
By Annie Zulu
THERE is need to raise residents’ awareness on the environmental and health implications of dumping diapers carelessly and how to properly dispose them of, Senior Environmental Health Technologist Brighton Sinkala has said.
Mr. Sinkala said diapers posed serious health and environmental dangers when not properly discarded.
He was commenting after a proposal by some Kanyama residents in Lusaka that the use of diapers be banned in the country, saying they were being illegally disposed of and posed a serious health hazard.
The residents proposed that diapers be banned until such a time authorities created a proper disposal system.
“They are creating a health hazard as most of the times they are being thrown in the open,” they said.
But Mr. Sinkala suggested that there was need to educate mothers on the implications of improper disposal of baby diapers.
He noted that many mothers did not have the knowledge on the implications that the practice had on the environment and public health.
“Diapers have become another health threat to residents because of their poor disposal. Some diapers find their way into water sources due to the rains, thereby contaminating the water and causing disease outbreaks such as cholera,” he said.
