In a bid to consolidate a cleaner and livable Lagos, the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) was invigorated to sustain efforts at evacuating waste generated in the State, as well as clearing black spots on highways and major roads.
The Authority has continued to plan and formulate policies in this regard.
Thus in two years of the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Authority has adopted the following strategies in meeting the waste management needs of residents in the State:
- MARINE WASTE
Lagos State has a total land area of about 3,577 Square Kilometers, of which 17 percent is aquatic (featuring the ocean, rivers, lagoons, creeks, e.t.c.), hence the initiative of marine waste collection, conceived to regularly cart away floating waste/refuse from blocked channels and coastal areas. This is to prevent flooding in line with the government’s policy direction on constant clean-up of waterways, to enhance a cleaner and aesthetic environment.
Accordingly, LAWMA’s Marine Waste Services which is in collaboration with the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA), is aimed at ensuring refuse/litter free shorelines, evacuation of pet bottles and clearing of water hyacinth (i.e. onshore and offshore services). It is also meant to build a sustainable recycling economy, through collection of pet bottles within the waterways of the State.
• LAWMA acquired 10 new boats to boost its marine waste operations in the State.
• The Authority is also in collaboration with the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA) on collection of PET bottles within the Lagos waterways. Six (6) boats were recently donated by FBRA for this purpose.
• Clearance of waste from canals and shorelines within the State for the well-being of Lagos residents.
• Engaging youths within the riverine and poor communities to increase employment generation of the State for improved per capital income.
• Consistent training and exposure of youths to the best practices in marine waste operation.
• Constant cleaning of shorelines and canals has equally led to the preservation of aquatic flora and fauna in the State.
• The effect of waterways clean-up within the State is reducing the rate of disease prevalence.
• Provision of suitable environment for marine and eco-tourism.
• Preservation of storm water in-let into the lagoon and creeks. - CONSTRUCTION WASTE
Construction, Demolition and Disaster Waste (CDDW) Management is the newest addition to the
waste management activities of LAWMA. The major objective is for the prevention, minimization, reuse, recycling, recovery and disposal of CDDW waste in Lagos State. The target for CDDW is to ensure that all waste streams are captured from sites. In line with this, the Authority has begun the deployment of heavy duty equipment for that purpose.
One of the recent activities involved the evacuation of debris of the recent fire incident at Lagos Island. The Authority, to create more awareness on the importance of proper management of CDDW, organized a one-day stakeholders’ forum on the 5th December, 2019, at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION ON THE ROAD
- UPDATE ON THE BLUE BOX PROGRAM
Following the launch of the Lagos Blue Box initiative on the 5th September, 2019, five Community Recycling Centres were activated in the following five Local Council Development Areas (LCD As), with recyclers strategically positioned to help drive the process:
Since the inception of the initiative, a total of about 340,050 bags have been distributed to various households to encourage sorting, many of these bags are reused until they are mutilated before they are replaced; a signal that waste minimization and reuse culture is readily taking root.
To ensure active participation and inclusion of relevant stakeholders; advocacy and sensitization at different levels were carried out. Children were not left out in the outreach, as they have been identified as change agents.
Some of the communities where the Blue Box program have been established include Lekki, Oshodi-Isolo, Iru in Victoria Island, Lagos Island, Ikeja, Surulere, Ijora-Olopa.
The overall objective of the Blue Box initiative is to divert as much as 40% of waste generated at the household level from the landfill. The volume of recyclables recovered at this initial stage is still very low, however, with sustained advocacy and incentives which would be introduced, the diversion rate is expected to increase especially during the festive period.
LAWMA Men and women cleaning Lagos Roads
- STREET SWEEPING/HIGHWAY SANITATION
LAWMA in a bid to ensure that roads in the State are always in a sparkling form is consolidating on the street sweeping/highway sanitation scheme, with the deployment of sweepers across the three senatorial districts of the State.
The Authority currently has 6,743 sweepers and 219 supervisors. The Authority has also incorporated physically-challenged persons into its sanitation drive in the city.
The physically challenged sweepers had been assigned to clean pedestrian bridges across the State. This has led to improved cleanliness of pedestrian bridges, as well as serving as means of livelihood for the special sweepers.
Major Achievements:
• Improved sanitation level across the State.
• Partnership with NGOs and corporate organizations for clean-up operations at different locations within the State.
• Unclogging of canals and drainages.
• Change in operation protocols, for example; change from pickers to brooms and rakes,
• Improved silt and tire collection.
- DECOMMISSIONING OF LANDFILLS
The agency had commenced plans to decommission Olusosun and Solous dumpsites soon due to urbanization and development of buildings close to the dumpsites. This became necessary as the sites drew closer to the end of their life cycles and the increasing human activities around them due to urban-rural migration.
- FABRICATION OF DOUBLE DINO BINS
The Authority, via its Engineering Department, design and fabricate double dino bins to boost its quest of having needed equipment to meet the waste management needs of residents in the State.
- PLACEMENT OF DINO BINS FOR PUBLIC WASTE CONTAINERISATION
To promote sustainable cleanliness in the State, the Authority intensified efforts to place dino bins at strategic locations, such as Mushin, LASU Gate, Alaba Rago, PPL, Badore, Aregbe Market, Oko-Efo and a host of others.
- IMPROVED PUBLIC WASTE COLLECTION
Additional fleet of vehicles has been added to serve as backup for the collection of public waste across the metropolis.
- MASS ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS
The Authority has embarked on massive door-to-door advocacy campaigns across the State to sensitize residents and community leaders on the tenets of effective waste management, motivating them to bag their wastes properly, shun indiscriminate refuse disposal and to patronize only their assigned PSP operators.
