Warns Against Indiscriminate Waste Disposal
The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has intensified efforts to restore environmental sanity across Lagos, carrying out a major clean-up intervention at several black spots in the Apapa axis as part of ongoing measures to improve waste evacuation and environmental sustainability across the State.
Speaking during the exercise, which covered Marine Beach, Warehouse Road, Randle Road, Mobile Road, and other identified black spots, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin reiterated the Authority's determination to rid the city of indiscriminate waste disposal and warned that offenders would face appropriate sanctions under extant environmental laws.
He noted that many of the black spots persisted because some residents and businesses deliberately bypassed approved waste collection channels in an attempt to evade payment for waste management services.
He said: “Many of the people generating waste in these locations are not captured within the formal PSP system. As a result, despite repeated evacuation exercises by LAWMA and PSP operators, the waste keeps reappearing. We can not continue to expend public resources in clearing the same locations while some individuals persist in illegal waste disposal practices.”
Dr. Gbadegesin lamented that substantial public resources were routinely deployed to clear illegal waste dumps across the city, only for some locations to be re-contaminated shortly after evacuation.
He stressed that achieving a cleaner Lagos required not only government intervention but also the cooperation of residents, businesses, market operators, and institutions in adopting responsible waste disposal practices.
He disclosed that the Authority was expanding waste collection options through the deployment of tricycle compactors and other innovative collection systems designed to improve waste evacuation in areas inaccessible to conventional compactor trucks.
He added that ongoing efforts to integrate willing cart pushers into a structured and regulated waste collection framework would help address some of the underlying causes of indiscriminate dumping while improving service delivery in underserved communities.
Dr. Gbadegesin also encouraged residents to embrace waste sorting at source by separating recyclable materials such as plastics, paper, cardboard, glass, and aluminium from general waste.
“A significant proportion of the materials currently disposed of as waste still retain economic value and can be recovered through recycling and resource recovery initiatives. By embracing waste sorting at source, residents can support environmental sustainability while contributing to the circular economy, "he said.
The LAWMA boss maintained that a clean environment remained essential for public health, environmental sustainability, and economic development while urging residents to take ownership of their surroundings, patronise approved PSP operators, comply with environmental regulations, and report waste management infractions through established LAWMA channels.
Commenting on the exercise, the Chairman of Apapa Local Government, Hon. Idowu Adejumoke Senbanjo commended LAWMA for the intervention and pledged the council's continued collaboration in promoting environmental cleanliness and sustainable waste management within the local government area.
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