AWAMN calls on govt to invest in Sanitary Engineered Landfills, Waste to Energy, to save environment

The Association of Waste Managers Nigeria (AWAMN) has called on the governments to invest in Sanitary Engineered Landfi lls, Waste to Compost, and Waste to Energy, so as to combat the negative effect of climate change and save the environment.

The President of the association, Dr David Oriyomi, said this in Lagos on Friday, during the association’s Award/Gala Night.
Theme: ”Making Circular Economy A Reality”, the program was to commemorate the successful end of year 2022.

According to Oriyomi, only 10 per cent of waste generated in Lagos State is being recycled and there is still the urgent need to invest in Sanitary Engineered Landfills, Waste to Compost, and Waste to Energy to keep the environment safe.

“Waste cannot continue to be buried in the dumpsites, due to the effects this method could have in future”, He said.

“Currently, less than 10 per cent of waste generated in Lagos state is being recycled; through genuine collaboration with other stakeholders we can accelerate the rate of recycling.

”We need to invest in the appropriate infrastructure and all hands must be on deck. Our priority must be to save our environment, as we are in danger of having more plastics than fish in the oceans.

”We clearly must have a rethink and producers must take more responsibilities and the government must continue to play its role as a regulator and a protector of the public interest,” he said.

Oriyomi stated that AWAMN’s first objective is to promote reduction of waste being generated.

He noted that the concept that waste being a resource can be misleading and promote the increase of the volume of waste being generated, if not placed in the right perspective.

“Waste is only a resource if it is properly collected and channeled towards reuse or recycling. This comes at a cost, and it must be viable as a business for it to be sustainable.

“As we come to the end of Year 2022, we have every reason to thank God and celebrate one another and with one another.

Oriyomi said that there was the need for collaboration with other stakeholders in order to accelerate the rate of recycling in the state.

According to him, there is the need to make the concept of circular economy a reality, and the association has produced a paper and has started taking steps toward the implementation.

In his goodwill message, the Managing Director, Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Mr Ibrahim Odumboni, said that in spite the downturn experienced in 2022, the waste managers had performed well.

”We saw a lot of progress in terms of our capacity building.

“The volume of truck and investment we made this year has been second to none. Now we can proudly boast that our PSPs have over 1,000 genuine trucks among themselves,” Odumboni said.

Awards were given to the Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tunji Bello (Lifetime Merit Award) and the CEO of FCMB, Mrs Yemisi Edun (The Amicus of the Environment).

Others who received awards included the MD of LAWMA, Mr Ibrahim Odumboni (Sui Generis Award); Mr Desmond Elliot (Advocate of the Environment), among others awardees.