15 tips to a nice, pollution-free neighbourhood

NEIGHBOURHOOD pollution comes in various forms -unkempt frontage, unkempt gutters, cigarette butts on streets, unswept roads, overgrown weeds at front yards and setback spaces, pure water sachets and wraps blowing by, unpatched potholes on roads, dustbins without covers and a whole load of other unsanitary habits.

A few adjustments of our attitudes can make a whole load of difference. GO–FORTE FOUNDATION wishes you to carry out a few of the following suggestions/initiatives. These will make your neighbourhood cleaner, healthier, nicer, and pollution-free for everyone.

1. Walk Your Talk – The most important thing you can do leading to a crusade for a clean environment is for you to walk your talk. Set a litter- free example for others. Do not throw pure water sachets or cigarette butts around. Pick up after your dog. If you see any litter flying around, grab it.
2. Tie Your Trash Bag — Avoid putting your trash directly inside your dustbin. Put your trash in a bag and tie it. If you have garden waste, do the same. Secure your dust bin lids. This prevents stray pieces of trash from falling out and blowing around your neighbourhood. It also helps to prevent rats and rodents from rummaging through, reducing the risk of infestations of lassa fever or other diseases transmitted by rats.
3. Volunteer — Be ready to volunteer your time for the community to keep it clean. Do not leave the task of cleaning alone to your house-helps. Get involved with neighbourhood clean up exercises. With the discontinuation of the monthly environmental sanitation program, organise one for your neighbourhood. Get your family and friends together, bring some music and snacks and spend an hour or two tidying up the place you call home.
4. Mind the Gutter — Never treat the gutter with contempt. Be mindful of it by keeping the bed and the walls clean. It is meant to be a passage for stormwater to flow. Do not throw trash inside the gutter. Do not urinate inside the gutter. Make sure it is clean. Paint it occasionally.
5. Stir up the dust — Never allow the dust to settle down on your streets. Blow them or sweep them away. A dust-free environment is a pollution-free environment. This keeps your children and adults with respiratory challenges away from the doctors. Join your community in an initiative to sweep your streets regularly.
6. A stitch in time — As soon as you notice any crack or pothole on the streets, seal it immediately before it smoulders into a big crater. Various options are available to mending the potholes. Ensure however not to use loose materials as these may cause it to look messy.
7. Plant trees and landscape responsibly — Take interest in nature by planting trees in front of your building. Cultivate a community garden in your premises. Eat freshly plucked vegetables. Allow the trees to beautify your surroundings and filter the air around you. Find out which plants thrive very well in your neighbourhood. You can even develop a new hobby in gardening.
8. Go to a car wash – A way to prevent urban run-off is to take your car to a car wash. This prevents the washing chemicals from eroding the tar on the roads. When vehicles are washed on the driveway, the water carries the toxins from your yard and the cleaning chemicals into the storm drain which flows directly to our waters. The run off water is the major cause of asphalt road deterioration.
9. Take a stroll or ride your bike — Walking  or riding a bike to places within 2-5 kilometres from your residence reduces your contribution to air and water pollution. Whilst walking, take cognisance of the beauty along your path and appreciate it. Also take note of the things that are out of place and draw attention to them on your group chat platform.
10. Reduce and reuse — Reduce the use of materials where you can. Reuse wrapping paper, gift bags, plastic containers, and anything else as much as you can. Recycling is very important, but reusing is even better and saves you money too. Try and sort your waste and put aside recyclables. Join recycle clubs.
11. Keep away from plastic bottles and Styrofoam — Plastic bottles and pure water sachets are not  biodegradable. Avoid using them as much as you can. Styrofoam is one single use material that cannot be recycled. Styrofoam is harsh on the environment and is often found at beach clean ups and in our waters. Choose alternatives to Styrofoam cups, egg cartons and miscellaneous other supplies that will inevitably end up in your street gutters or in a landfill. Revert to the use of glass bottles or flasks instead of plastics.
12. Organise paint splash or community painting — You can join other families in your neighbourhood to paint up communal areas or highlight speed humps, or paint roadside kerbs or even line up your roads, beautifying your environment. You can consider painting your gutter walls too.
13. Find your voice — Learn how you can join friends and have a voice in the decision-making in your community by participating in the zonal or residents’  meeting to support clean healthy neighbourhoods. Lend your voice to unsavoury habits or developments you see around and curb it before it festers into a neighbourhood slur. We are in an era of speaking up. Speak out until an action is taken or you take that action.
14. Avoid littering roads with cars — If you can park within your premises, do park in there and avoid parking cars on the streets overnight. It helps with the tidiness of the area and reduces obstructions to street sweepers. It equally allows clear sightlines which enhance the security of your neighbourhood.
15. Get outside — The only way to want to keep your neighbourhood clean is to love and appreciate it. The only way you will love your neighbourhood is if you spend time in it. Get up and take a stroll around your community to remind yourself what you love and why you want to keep it clean. Getting out makes you to notice new building styles, colour appreciation and new developments in your neighbourhood.

• Send your questions or feedback to Gbenga Onabanjo, Go-Forte Foundation at [email protected], or 08092345971 (WhatsApp or SMS)