The Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAMN) has attributed the current waste management challenges in Lagos State to inadequate infrastructure, saying existing waste disposal facilities can no longer cope with the state’s estimated population of about 27 million residents.
Speaking on the situation, the National President of AWAMN, Dr. Olugbenga Adebola, described the condition as unfortunate, noting that neither government nor waste operators were satisfied with the current state of refuse collection across the state.
Adebola explained that waste management infrastructure originally designed to serve between 15 and 17 million residents is now being stretched to accommodate about 27 million people, leading to operational bottlenecks and slower waste evacuation.
He said the Private Sector Participation (PSP) waste management model is responsible for collecting refuse from households and transporting it to disposal sites, material recovery facilities, or transfer loading stations. However, he noted that inadequate and overstretched disposal infrastructure has significantly increased truck turnaround time, disrupting waste collection operations.
According to him, AWAMN had previously engaged Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on the challenges, and the governor assured operators that the state government would address the infrastructure deficit.
Adebola disclosed that the governor had approved funding for the rehabilitation and upgrade of existing disposal sites but noted that the projects would take time to complete, with only temporary measures expected during the implementation period.
He further revealed that the Lagos State Government had initiated plans to convert about 2,500 metric tonnes of waste into energy through a foreign firm and had also partnered with Zoom Lion to establish transfer loading stations across the state.
While describing the initiatives as commendable, the AWAMN president said they were still at the planning stage and had yet to provide immediate relief for waste operators.
He reaffirmed the commitment of licensed PSP operators to continue providing waste collection services, stressing that their major challenge remains the limited capacity of the existing waste disposal system.
Meanwhile, licensed commercial waste operators have appealed to the Lagos State Government to provide alternative dumping sites, citing increasing difficulties in disposing of waste at the Olusosun Dumpsite.
The operators, who spoke anonymously, said they remain committed to keeping Lagos clean but have been hampered by the lack of accessible disposal facilities.
One of the operators disclosed that attempts to transport waste to the Sagamu Dumpsite had resulted in frequent vehicle breakdowns and substantial repair costs, making operations increasingly unsustainable.
The operators appealed to Lagos residents to support calls for the provision of additional dumpsites, noting that thousands of workers depend on the waste management sector for their livelihoods.
They warned that refuse had continued to accumulate in many parts of Lagos, forcing some residents to resort to indiscriminate waste disposal.
The operators urged the state government to implement a lasting solution to the waste disposal crisis to improve environmental sanitation and reduce the risk of flooding across the state.
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