By Barbara Nwaiwu
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.
The primary clean-up intervention took place on Thursday covering Marine Beach, Warehouse Road, Randle Road, Mobile Road and other identified black spots within Apapa.
Speaking during the exercise, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, reiterated the Authority’s determination to eliminate indiscriminate waste disposal across Lagos and warned that offenders would face appropriate sanctions under existing environmental laws.
According to him, recurring waste accumulation in the affected locations had been linked to residents and businesses bypassing approved waste collection channels to avoid 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.”
Gbadegesin lamented that substantial public resources were routinely deployed to clear illegal waste dumps across the city, only for some locations to become re-contaminated shortly after evacuation.
He stressed that maintaining a cleaner Lagos required collective responsibility involving government agencies, residents, businesses, market operators and institutions through responsible waste disposal practices.
The LAWMA boss disclosed that the Authority was expanding waste collection options through the deployment of tricycle compactors and other innovative collection systems aimed at improving waste evacuation in areas inaccessible to conventional compactor trucks.
He added that efforts were also ongoing to integrate willing cart pushers into a structured and regulated waste collection framework to address underlying causes of indiscriminate dumping while improving service delivery in underserved communities.
Gbadegesin further encouraged residents to embrace waste sorting at source by separating recyclable materials including 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.
He maintained that a clean environment remained essential for public health, environmental sustainability and economic development, 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.
