Amid 50 per cent upward review of Lagos waste management bills that are passed to residents, Lagosian still await efficient waste collection system BERTRAM NWANNEKANMA reports.
With a population estimate of 24 million and daily household wastes put at 13,000 metric tonnes, Lagos State is still grappling with the challenges of managing wastes. Just last week, piles of garbage were seen on streets, around homes and along waterways and lagoons, constituting eyesores and spreading putrid smells .
Garbage trucks, which made attempts to reduce the wastes often end up spreading them on the streets, as they trucks are not properly covered. The trucks simply relocate the wastes to hazardous dumpsites or dump them in the Atlantic Ocean. Heaps of refuse now dot major highways, markets and open places, thereby making nonsense efforts at making Lagos clean.
For instance, a trip to Apapa recently revealed ugly sights of refuse heaps at Cele Bus-Stop, Ijesha Bus-Stop, Mile 2 and Otto Wharf. Heaps of refuse were seen on medians of dual carriageways on Lagos/Badagry Expressway, particularly the Okokomaiko stretch, Jakande Low Cost Housing Estate, Mile 2, Ojuelegba, Boundary in Ajegunle, Isolo, LASU/Iba Road, Alaba International Market, Ikotun and Makoko.
It is the same situation at Ikeja Under Bridge, where heaps of refuse has resurfaced. In most cases, the stack are left uncleared for days. There were also heaps of refuse on roads, especially places near markets in the areas visited last week. Worst hit are Ikorodu, Mile 2, Airport roads, Agege, Pen Cinema, Orile, Mushin, Mile 12 and Ikotun.
A visit last week to Badore communities, Addo and Ajah roads expressway to the Jubilee Bridge, also revealed sorry sight of refuse mass at strategic places.
Beggars compound the situation, as they litter the environment with leftover of freebies from good Samaritans. A resident, Mutiu Abayomi, said: “We want government to turn their searchlight on the Alesh Hotel area, under the newly created pedestrian bridge by Ilaje Bus Stop.”
To tackle the situation, it was gathered that the waste management bill was reviewed in August last year.
But the improvements recorded have mainly benefited the formal waste system, though it led to public-private joint investments in the purchase of 650 waste collection trucks and a waste-to-compost facility, which cost over $20 million. The fate private citizens remain the same.
The state, under former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, had adopted the Cleaner Lagos Initiative, a major reform to improve solid waste management. At a sensitisation workshop at 2017 Water Technology and Environmental Control Conference and Exhibition (WATEC), Ambode said a number of dumpsites around Lagos would be closed to manage the issue of drain blockage and dumping of waste in gutters and on roads.
He announced a public-private partnership with an environmental utility group, Visionscape Sanitation Solutions, to build sanitary landfill depots in Mushin, Lagos Island and Ogudu, under the Cleaner Lagos initiative supervised by Lagos State Waste Management Initiative.
According to the governor’s 10-year contract announcement, Visionscape would be in charge of the collection of door-to-door household wastes. The waste depots are to oversee and provide maintenance services for the company’s waste management services and materials.
But the initiative was not sustained after he lost his reelection bid. With the advent of another administration, a rethinking of Lagos’ waste policy to recognise and integrate the informal economy was born.
Also, LAWMA was reinvigorated to begin rehabilitation of its five legal dumpsites and ensure sustainability in its waste management and disposal efforts.
The exercise, anchored by LAWMA’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Ibrahim Odumboni, involved building 21 platforms on the sites and evacuate wastes within 20 minutes, thereby increasing the Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators’ daily trips from 500 to 850.
According to Odumboni, the move reshaped waste collection and disposal in the state. He stressed that the operations of the 14,000 street-sweepers will also be reviewed to make them carry out night operations and ensure that Lagos residents wake up to behold a clean Lagos.
LAWMA, he said, has also set minimum standards and performance indicators for the PSP operators to ensure sustainability of its objective, while plans are on to establish a recycler in each of the 57 local councils, thereby creating employment.
According to him, the authority is poised to return to its core activity of waste management and engagement with relevant stakeholders to know the challenges and address their concerns. He also indicated plans to reposition the blue box programme launched last year by the governor to ensure
spread.
ALL these persist, despite the fact, that LAWMA, in collaboration with Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators, had, in October last year, commenced a 50 per cent review of waste management bills across board, following a 300 per cent increase on its operational cost.
Some residents, who spoke to The Guardian, said many households now dump their refuse roads and medians at nights. An Isolo resident, simply identified as Madam Okwe, said residents and motorists sometimes drop refuse on the roads.
According to her, the planned enforcement of the use of waste bins by tenements scheduled to commence June 1, 2023 has compounded the situation. Okwe stressed that many Lagosians still grapple with high cost of food and will not want additional strains on their well-being.
Another resident at Magodo, Michael Akorede, said waste bills in his area has increased by 100 per cent. Apart from increase in the bill, PSP operators only visit once or twice monthly, instead of weekly visits. He regretted that unlike previous arrangements, where bills are measured according to what each household generates, bills are given in uniform.
Mutiu Adebola, a resident of Ikeja, claims many residents dump their household wastes in commercial areas to avoid paying for them. But reacting to concerns raised by residents, Odumboni said LAWMA has been working towards ensuring efficient waste management services across the city.
According to him, the agency’s primary objective is to encourage residents to dispose of their wastes through designated channels, in collaboration with accredited Private Sector Participants (PSP) operators. He stressed that the increase in waste bills, which has been on since August 2022, followed rise in cost of operations and spare parts for the PSPs’ trucks.
He said: “As the PSP operators work assiduously to provide effective services to tenements in the state, let us remember that their businesses need to stay afloat, in spite of present economic realities. Kindly note also that government is still subsidising the cost.
“While we have a positive outcome in view for the review, due to the fact that a lot of stakeholders’ meetings were held with landlords associations, CDAs and CDCs, we acknowledge that there might be instances where some residents are not fully adhering to the prescribed waste disposal procedures.
“LAWMA, in partnership with other relevant stakeholders, such as Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA) and Neighbourhood Watch, is dedicated to addressing these challenges and maintaining clean and sustainable environment.
To stop dumping of refuse in unauthorised places, LAMWA boss said they have implemented various initiatives, such as adopt-a-bin programme, aimed at educating and sensitising residents to proper waste disposal. Those dumping refuse indiscriminately are those who don’t have refuse bins in their houses and would use the cover of darkness to perpetuate these ills.
He added: “ We have, however, intensified our public awareness campaigns through multiple channels, including radio jingles, billboards, social media, and community engagements. These efforts are aimed at informing residents on the importance of utilising the services provided by PSP operators and avoiding unauthorised dumping.
“Furthermore, we have increased the presence of our enforcement teams across the city to deter illegal waste dumping. These teams are working diligently to identify and apprehend individuals found in violation of waste disposal regulations.
“These teams have the local police working hand in hand with them. They work between 10p.m. and 5a.m. every day and are stationed at designated places across the metropolis. We are committed to ensuring that culprits face appropriate legal consequences when caught.”
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