‘Lagos’ disposed waste can generate $2.5b’

Managing Director, Lagos State Waste Management Authority, (LAWMA) Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, has disclosed that 90 per cent of the waste disposed in the state is worth about $2.5 billion. He also reaffirmed his agency’s commitment to maintaining a cleaner environment. He urged residents to desist from dumping refuse on  roads and in canals, warning that anyone caught in the act of dumping refuse in authorised places will face the full wrath of the law. He advised all residents to embrace waste separation, adding that we must all stop throwing everything away and start sorting as it is done in advanced countries.

“90 percent of what you throw away has value to the tune of $2.5billion. We must start sorting that waste, collecting it and giving it to those who are in need of it. Waste to wealth is the key to the survival of Lagos. When you go to Olusosun and solous 3, you will see it”, he stressed.

Said he:  “In Lagos we must move to a point where we ban landfill sites and that is what we are moving towards as a state government. We have commenced the process of decommissioning Olusosun and Soluos 3 within the next 18 months. We have already gone two months out of those 18 months. Just give us an allowance for plus or minus. We are committed to decommissioning them”.

Gbadegesin reaffirmed his agency’s commitment to maintaining a cleaner environment, urging residents to stop dumping refuse roads and in canals, warning that caught disposing refuse in drainage channels and unauthorized places will contend with the provision of the State sanitation laws

He advised all residents to embrace waste separation, adding that we must all stop throwing everything away and start sorting as it is done in advanced countries.

He disclosed plans to recruit 377 environmental health officers, aka wole-wole, as part of the new drive of the government to tame the waste challenge in the state. He said they will be empowered by law to arrest and prosecute offenders.

He said recruitment will begin from January 2026, and the officers will be deployed to each ward in the state.

“Mr. Governor granted us an approval to engage 377 environmental health officers.

“That means we are going to have one in each ward. And if you are familiar with the environmental law, the environmental health officers, alias wole-wole, of the olden days, they have a lot of powers. They can take you to court; they can prosecute and put you to jail if you violate any of the environmental laws.

“By the time we have one in each ward, we now empower them so that we go back to those old systems. That’s the kind of enforcement system I think you are asking for,” he said.

The LAWMA Chief said the state requires at least 2,000 tricycle compactors to tackle the waste challenge, especially in the hard-to-reach areas of the state.

According to him, the state generates between 13,000 and 15,000 tonnes of waste daily, out of which 4,000 to 5,000 tonnes are collected by 450 Private Sector Partnership (PSP) operators.

 “The balance is going into the drains, canals, lagoons, and wetlands, among others.

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 “We have about 12 percent of wetlands in Lagos, and people have been dumping waste on the wetlands,” Gbadegesin said.

Gbadegesin disclosed that about 22 PSP operators had been fired for inefficiency in the collection of waste.

The LAWMA boss described infrastructure as the biggest challenge in the state’s waste management system.

 “The biggest issue right now in waste management is the infrastructure.

 “When I talk of infrastructure, I am talking about the equipment and facilities that we will use to collect transport, treat, and dispose of the 13,000 tonnes of waste generated daily in the state.

 “The infrastructure includes the whole logistics chain from the bins. Risk management begins from the containerization, the households, business, and the industry.

 “We don’t have enough bins. Right now, we have 80,000 smart bins that we are rolling out, and we need a lot more,” he said.

Gbadegesin added that the agency has been working closely with the council chairmen across the state to take charge of waste management and street trading in their areas.

He said at least 25 councils have already created waste management task forces as part of the synergy with LAWMA.

He pledged that LAWMA would continue to work with relevant stakeholders to ensure a cleaner Lagos

Also, he stated that as part of measures to ensure a cleaner city, the Lagos State Government is committed to a 10 year development plan under which 100 new CNG compactor trucks would be procured for use next year.

According to him, to keep Lagos clean we still need compactor trucks. Altogether, we need about 2000 trucks. 1000 for day to day fleet and 1000 for backup”

“This is a long term investment package that would be supported by a state wide billing system. We will undertake Enumeration of every household and billing by the state government. Through automation, You will now get a bill from the state government. When you pay and once we confirm that the PSP operator has done the job. We pay them”.

Gbadegesin reiterated that what LAWMA is working towards is to have transparency and accountability in the system. “We believe that Lagos residents are ready to pay for waste collection if they will get good service and that is what we will ensure going forward”.

He also stated that as part of measures to sanitize the waste collection and disposal system and ensure standards,  the agency has terminated the contract of about 22 PSP waste operators for under performance this year and has gone ahead to give the slot to new ones that are ready to do business.

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He announced plans by the State to acquire 500 mobile compactor tricycles by the middle of next year to address the surging wage burden.

The MD said this had become imperative because many areas are very difficult to reach because of the narrowness of the roads and the inaccessibility of some.

In his words: “Currently we are running this system in Ibeju Lekki. The chairman of Ibeju Lekki Sesan Olowa came to us about a year ago that the PSP operators in the area are not going into the communities and that he wants to introduce tricycle compactors”

 “Around the same time, we got information about an entrepreneur who just brought in tricycle compactors. So we adviced that both parties can collaborate and today they have been running that system so well and the people have embraced it in Ibeju-Lekki.

“We have now decided we can replicate this in other parts of Lagos We had a meeting with all Local Governments recently where they all pledged to support the new system”

He reiterated that the adoption of the new mobile compactor tricycle can also absorb some of the cart pushers to use this system. “The PSP operators can buy some; engage cart pushers and put them on salary. We can now have a more efficient system for Lagos”