Lagos plans overhaul of waste management system

JOSHUA BASSEY

Lagos is tidying up plans to overhaul its current waste management system to allow for greater efficiency and a more effective waste collection and disposal.

The reform is expected to breathe new life into the dwindling operations of Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and reposition the agency to effectively handle waste management, as well as oversee operations of private sector operations within the system.

LAWMA is seen to have lost many grounds in the last two years, even as its once elated street sweepers are losing their pride.

An official confirms to BusinessDay that some of the existing Private Sector Participants (PSP) may be exited from the system, while new operators introduced to expand it scope of operations. BusinessDay was also told that there were plans to introduce tricycles for waste collection from areas where trucks do not have easy access.

“We are planning a reform of the entire waste management system in the state. Those PSP operators who are not doing well will be dropped. The vision is to make Lagos a model megacity in terms of waste management. Details of what we intend to do would soon be unveiled,” Babatunde Adejare, the state commissioner for the environment, said in response to questions.

The reform, it is gathered, will also allow room for greater foreign participation, as some foreign firms are said to have shown interest in waste recycling in the state. With an estimated 20 million population, Lagos, according to official sources, currently generates about 13,000 metric tons of solid waste per day, in form of paper, cardboard, plastic, metal, food and other materials.

However, a lot of the wastes are not properly disposed as heaps of rubbish and broken-down refuse compactor trucks are left on the streets for weeks. Also, due to the inefficiency in the system, over 60 percent of households rely on cart-pushers who collect waste from homes and offices and dump them into water channels. Scavengers are also seen earning potentially hazardous livelihood searching for recyclable materials from dump sites.

But Adejare said this abnormally would no longer be noticed after the reform, adding that the state would step up enforcement of the laws that prohibit the operations of cart-pushers.

Also, a source within LAWMA confirms plans for improved technology to drive the waste management system, saying, “We plan to design our own conveyor system with our engineers in partnership with service providers of different professions to manage our waste, thereby making waste wealth.

“Part of our new strategy will be waste characterisation to know the type of machines needed to treat organic waste and the capacity to handle the organic waste. We also want to know and have a database of waste per capita in the state. We should be able to have better treatment of waste,” the LAWMA source says.