The Lagos State Government on Thursday charged the citizenry to imbibe an attitudinal change in the waste management and disposal culture in order to collectively achieve a sustainable environment.
The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, said this when he spoke on a television and X Space programme.
Wahab spoke in reaction to a video saying Lagos is a smelly city, adding that proper waste disposal culture is an intentional behaviour that must be adhered to by all concerned.
He said most cosmopolitan cities around the world have specific areas that emit offensive odours such as New York, Beijing and London amongst others, adding that Lagos is not an exception but this can only be experienced around the landfill sites at Olusosun in Ojota and Solous 3 in Igando area.
In his words: “Let me ask this question: If you stay around or you drive past Olusosun, Solous 3 amongst other landfills and you perceive some offensive odours does that mean the whole of Lagos is smelling.
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“I have taken the statement ‘Lagos is smelling’ as a political tool to latch onto and set the record straight by saying Lagos is not smelling but evolving.”
The Commissioner said Lagos generates between 13,000 to 14,000 tonnes of waste daily, highlighting that it has creatively proffered ways to reduce the quantum of waste that ends up at the landfill sites.
Wahab said: “We have an arrangement that brings waste to wealth where organic waste becomes composite fertilizers, plastics waste will be recycled to big plastic dustbins and all these is just to encourage Lagosians to build a proper waste disposal culture as done in other climes.
“Approach taken by government in waste management include converting between 4,000 to 5,000 tonnes of waste daily to wealth, 2,500 tonnes converted to energy, 4,000 to 5,000 converted to fuel for LAMATA buses, and LAFARGE company taking a chunk of the combustible wastes converted to power for their factory.
“The long-term plan is to have less than 1,000 tonnes ending up at the Landfill daily.”
Wahab said the state is in the process of de-commissioning of the dumpsites at Olusosun and Soulous 3, adding that the approach of waste segregation from waste generated will go a long way to minimise the number of waste that will end up at the landfills sites.
He mentioned that for almost two decades, the government has enabled the private sector to come into the waste collection process with the Lagos State Waste Management Authority as the regulator, saying that some challenges are experienced in the process as homeowners always want to circumvent the payment system thereby engaging in illegal waste disposal.
He said: “If PSP operators are not efficient in your area, please call LAWMA; they are empowered with over 200 trucks to intervene in the interim as a stop gap to cart away waste and later investigate the operation of the designated PSP operator.”
The Commissioner said the state is continually ramping up its advocacy campaign to educate homeowners and market leaders and also enforce when necessary, adding that arrest and prosecution will also be made according to the environmental laws of the State.
“Recently, I led Advocacy campaigns to Idumota, Oyingbo and Oke-Arin markets to educate our market women that they have to change and do things differently, they must display their wares responsibly in the allocated space and not on our drainage channels,” he said.
Wahab said the government has deepened its collaboration and relationship with the local governments to ensure that they carry out their responsibility of effecting cleanliness in the markets space and tertiary drains, while the state is responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of the primary and secondary channels in order to ensure a flood free Lagos.
He stressed that in the recent past, the government had to move to the Berger end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and Oshodi, where individuals were found to be openly defecating on the road medians, causing a notorious stench in these areas, adding that the spaces were thereafter cleaned while sanitation enforcement officers were deployed to arrest recalcitrant offenders.
He said the Ministry constantly consults with officials of the National Union of Road Transport Workers to ensure that functional public toilets exist in all motor parks and to also educate their members and motorists to use these toilets.
He said: “People are used to doing things in a certain way and it will definitely take a while to change these orientations and behaviour in people and to do this you must have a strong advocacy campaign and an enforcement plan in place and that is what we are committed to.”
Wahab mentioned that a total of 1710 public toilets exist in the state with an additional 150 new ones currently being worked on, adding that every petrol filling station and eatery is compelled to allow people to use their toilet facility in order to curb the open defecation menace.
He said: “All we require from our citizens is just to blow the whistle about people that engage in environmental infractions in the environment, but I would like residents to also know that the government will frown at any person that is found to use the whistle blowing approach to witch hunt others.”
Wahab also touched on the present administration’s determination to provide portable water to every nook and cranny of the state with the ongoing laying of water pipes from Ogun River to Adiyan II estimated to provide 70 million gallons drinkable water daily in addition to the 30 million being supplied by the already existing waterworks.
He thereafter encouraged everyone to collaborate with the government to ensure that a healthy environment is achieved and sustained.
He said: “I want to appeal to all residents to be friendly with nature and be rest assured that the government would not drop the ball.
“We shall continually be responsive and responsible to you in the ministry as well as all our agencies.
“Be rest assured we are available and willing to assist at all times.”
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