Lagos generates 13,000 tonnes of waste daily – Official

Lagos State generates an average of 13,000 tonnes of waste daily, the state waste management agency has said.

The Managing Director of Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Muyiwa Gbadegesin, gave the figure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Mr Gbadegesin said that the authority had been effectively evacuating the large volume of waste in partnership with Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators.

According to him, LAWMA and the PSP operators daily deploy 102 compactor trucks for waste evacuation.

He said that LAWMA’s marine waste evacuation team had also continued to evacuate waste from coastlines, lagoons and drainage channels.

He added that LAWMA had continued to expand its advanced medical waste management to accommodate operations of hairdressers and beauticians who generated human tissue waste.

He emphasised that every Lagos resident had a role to play in maintaining a cleaner and healthier environment.

“From disposing waste properly through accredited PSP operators and cleaning of gutters in front of our houses, to sorting waste at source, we all have roles to play,” Mr Gbadegesin said.

He highlighted LAWMA’s ongoing innovations in waste management, including the expansion of the waste-to-wealth initiatives aimed at reducing dependence on landfills.

“Now, we have a glass recycling plant in Lagos, and people are beginning to see the economic potential in materials such as PET bottles,” he said.

Mr Gbadegesin also said LAWMA would procure compactor trucks and lease them to Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators in waste management to boost operations and ensure a cleaner Lagos.

He said LAWMA had continued to support the PSP operators to ensure that they would be better equipped to discharge their duties more efficiently and responsibly.

He noted that their operations were being subsidised by the state government monthly to encourage them.

According to him, the growing population of Lagos State requires more efficient and effective waste management.

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“Unfortunately, because of the economic situation, volatility in the foreign exchange market and increasing cost of diesel, a lot of the PSP operators are struggling.

“We are developing an intervention programme where we are going to bring in trucks and make them available to them on a lease basis,” Mr Gbadegesin said.

The LAWMA boss said that the intervention had become necessary to eliminate gaps in service delivery by the operators.

He said that LAWMA, with the support of 428 PSP operators, had been evacuating waste from all parts of the state, plying 40 routes two or three times daily to ensure a cleaner Lagos.

He appealed to residents of the state to desist from indiscriminate dumping of waste to ensure the sustainability of the environment.

(NAN)