Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of LAWMA, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin
Elegbede Abiodun
* Engagement between state officials and transport unions was to make them more responsive as regards the refuse in their parks, garages.
* No replacement of the duties of LAGESC, task force
Towards improving waste evacuation across the state, ZoomLion Nigeria Limited, which is a waste-to-wealth partner to the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), has commenced preliminary works to stabilise and reopen Road E at the Olusosun refuse facility.
Speaking on LAWMA’s ongoing interventions, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, said they are expected to improve access, reduce turnaround time, and enhance operational efficiency at the site.
He acknowledged the operational challenges affecting waste evacuation in some parts of the state, but assured residents that the government was actively implementing immediate, medium-term, and long-term solutions to improve service delivery.
The agency further reassured residents that comprehensive measures were being implemented as the government intensifies efforts to strengthen operational efficiency, expand waste management infrastructure, and enhance environmental sanitation.
According to Gbadegesin, recent operational pressures were partly linked to challenges associated with access to disposal facilities, particularly during the peak of the rainy season.
Meanwhile, he disclosed that the agency has resuscitated and optimised the use of Transfer Loading Stations (TLSs) across the state as a stop-gap measure to facilitate quicker waste evacuation from communities while ongoing infrastructure improvements continue.
Moreover, he said the government was also taking steps to support the acquisition of additional waste collection vehicles by PSP operators, adding that the expected deployment of 100 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) compactor trucks would significantly boost the state’s waste evacuation capacity, while 10 new compactor trucks donated by the Lagos State Lottery and Gaming Board had already been deployed to strengthen waste collection operations.
According to him, the government has equally intensified enforcement against indiscriminate waste disposal and other environmental infractions, while recently constituting a coordinated waste police initiative involving key stakeholders, including transport unions and community groups, to strengthen environmental compliance and discourage illegal dumping.
He added that the government was also exploring inter-state collaboration to complement existing waste disposal infrastructure, improve operational flexibility, and support more efficient waste evacuation across Lagos.
The LAWMA boss also highlighted the ongoing construction of new TLS at Olusosun and Solous III, noting that the facilities would collectively divert up to 4,000 tonnes of waste daily to recycling and treatment facilities upon completion.
This, he noted, will significantly reduce pressure on disposal sites, advance the state’s circular economy objectives, and complement the government’s broader commitment to modernising waste management through increased investment in recycling, material recovery, waste diversion, and other sustainable waste-to-resource initiatives.
In the meantime, the state government has clarified that it does not intend and will not swap the statutory responsibilities of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) with any transport union or association, as is being speculated.
In a statement to that effect yesterday, the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, explained that the recent engagement between state officials and some transport unions was about how the unions could be more responsive as regards the refuse in their parks, garages and bus stops.
Wahab said the engagement was aimed at fostering collaboration, promoting shared responsibilities, and ensuring improved cleanliness and proper waste management within the union’s respective parks and garages.
He emphasised that the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) or LAGESC, in collaboration with the Lagos State Special Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences, remain the duly empowered environmental enforcement arm of the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources and will not abdicate its responsibilities.
The commissioner reiterated that the new partnership does not in any way diminish, transfer, or replace the enforcement responsibilities of LAGESC and the task force.
