Lagos State will add 220 trucks to its waste evacuation fleet as the government moves to increase its capacity to manage the growing volume of refuse generated across the state.
The Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, disclosed this on Saturday during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise in Festac, Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area.
Hamzat said the additional trucks would complement the existing Private Sector Participation (PSP) waste collection system and help the state respond to rising waste generation linked to population growth.
“The state government will be bringing in another 220 trucks to make sure that we supplement our PSP,” he said.
The deputy governor urged residents to patronise approved PSP operators rather than cart pushers, warning that waste collected by unregulated operators could be disposed of indiscriminately.
“What we need our people to also do is to make sure that they patronise their PSP, not the cart pushers, because they are not organised. You don’t know where the waste is ending up,” Hamzat said.
The planned addition comes less than two months after Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced that Lagos would take delivery of 150 compactor trucks to strengthen waste evacuation across the state.
Hamzat said the increasing number of people living and working in Lagos was contributing to higher daily waste generation, making additional evacuation capacity necessary.
“A lot of people are coming to Lagos, and therefore, they generate waste. So part of what you can see that we are doing is that we are getting many more trucks to actually go and evacuate,” he said.
Government urges residents to improve waste disposal
Hamzat said residents also had a responsibility to dispose of waste properly, particularly warning against dumping refuse in canals.
According to him, waste dumped in drainage channels can obstruct the flow of water and contribute to flooding.
He said the state government was encouraging communities across Lagos to organise regular environmental sanitation exercises to have residents clean their surroundings at least once a month.
“We cannot be a people without a healthy environment. It doesn’t matter what we do, a cleaner environment is what makes a city or a state sustainable,” Hamzat said.
The deputy governor also urged residents to take personal responsibility for keeping their surroundings clean and to use approved waste collection channels.
He said the government’s community engagement efforts were aimed at encouraging residents to develop a culture of environmental cleanliness and create healthier surroundings for children and other residents.
Speaking specifically about environmental management in Festac, Hamzat noted that the Federal Housing Authority had responsibilities in the area but said residents and property managers were still expected to comply with Lagos State environmental regulations.
He nevertheless reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to maintaining a sustainable and conducive environment for residents.
Hamzat commended the local government chairman and residents for participating in the sanitation exercise, saying community involvement was essential to sustaining environmental cleanliness across Lagos.
Wahab highlights changes in waste management
Also speaking during the exercise, the Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, said waste management in the state was improving.
Wahab attributed the progress to the deployment of 24-hour emergency response teams and measures introduced to address challenges at landfills and dumpsites.
He said the state government had also intensified engagement with PSP operators to improve waste collection and had intervened in areas where the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) would ordinarily not operate.
According to Wahab, the government had assured PSP operators of its support to enable them to improve their services, while residents were expected to pay for waste collection in line with the polluter-pays principle.
He said the arrangement was intended to ensure that PSP operators received adequate support while residents obtained the services for which they paid.
Wahab said Lagos was also moving away from the traditional linear waste management model, in which waste is collected and dumped, towards a circular system focused on recovering waste and converting it into useful resources.
He said the transition had resulted in the development of material recovery facilities in Badagry and Epe, as well as transfer stations at Soluyi and Olusosun.
Government weighs action on cart pushers
On the activities of cart pushers, Wahab said the government was engaging with them but would not adopt measures that could create greater environmental or security challenges.
He said investigations had shown that waste collected by some cart pushers was often dumped in drainage channels and road medians, contributing to environmental problems and flooding.
Wahab also raised concerns about reports linking some cart pushers to criminal activities, including the cutting and theft of metals.
He said the government could not adopt a policy that might worsen security challenges while trying to address waste collection.
The planned addition of 220 trucks, alongside the previously announced 150 compactor trucks, is expected to increase the state’s waste evacuation capacity as Lagos continues to address the environmental pressures associated with its growing population.
