LAWMA Moves to End Recurrent Waste Blackspots Across Lagos

The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has intensified efforts to tackle recurrent waste blackspots across the state through a combination of waste evacuation, improved collection services, targeted enforcement, infrastructure upgrades and community engagement.

The Lagos State Government disclosed this on its official Facebook page, quoting the Managing Director/CEO of LAWMA, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, as saying the Authority’s approach is shifting from simply evacuating accumulated waste to addressing the operational and behavioural factors responsible for the recurrence of waste at previously cleared locations.

Gbadegesin said the Authority was combining the clearance of waste backlogs with measures to ensure that waste generated in surrounding communities was properly captured, collected and evacuated, while enforcement was being strengthened against indiscriminate dumping, illegal waste collection and other practices that undermine the formal waste management system.

“Our approach is changing from simply clearing waste backlogs to addressing what causes them to return. Where there are service gaps, we are working with stakeholders to improve collection; where there is indiscriminate dumping, we are enforcing compliance; and where locations have been cleared, we are putting measures in place to prevent redumping,” he said.

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According to him, the approach is already being implemented in parts of the state, including Ayobo-Ipaja, where LAWMA has combined sustained evacuation of accumulated waste with enforcement against illegal waste collectors and defaulting markets and commercial facilities.

Gbadegesin also said that in Mushin and Odi-Olowo, following the removal of waste backlogs from major road medians, the Authority was deploying collection trucks into inner streets to improve residents’ access to waste collection services and discourage the movement of waste back to cleared medians.

He said the recent upgrade of critical infrastructure at the Olusosun Disposal Facility had further demonstrated the importance of strengthening the wider waste evacuation chain, with improved access and truck turnaround contributing to increased operational capacity.

The LAWMA boss disclosed that the Authority was also strengthening its collaboration with Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators through a participatory reform process focused on improving route management, service delivery, fleet capacity, technology-driven monitoring, accountability and the long-term sustainability of the waste management sector.

He added that LAWMA was intensifying enforcement against illegal waste operators, unauthorised markets and other activities contributing to indiscriminate dumping, while engaging communities and other stakeholders to ensure that locations cleared of waste remain clean.

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Gbadegesin stressed that behavioural change remained a critical part of the strategy, noting that residents sometimes continue to dump waste on road medians, roadsides and other unauthorised locations despite the availability of approved waste collection arrangements.

“A clean city cannot be sustained by government action alone. We need residents, businesses, markets, PSP operators and communities to take responsibility for how waste is generated, handled and disposed of. Clearing a location only for it to become a dumping point again is not sustainable,” he said.

He maintained that the ultimate objective of the Lagos State Government was to achieve sustainable waste management driven by the circular economy.

Gbadegesin pointed to ongoing initiatives, including the development of transfer loading stations and material recovery facilities, as well as the promotion of waste-to-wealth and waste-to-energy projects, as part of efforts to transform waste management in Lagos.

He reaffirmed LAWMA’s commitment to a coordinated and data-driven approach to recurrent waste hotspots, combining operational interventions, enforcement, stakeholder engagement and infrastructure improvements to achieve cleaner communities and break the cycle of dumping, evacuation and redumping.

The LAWMA chief urged residents to support the initiative by patronising approved waste collection services, reporting service gaps and rejecting indiscriminate dumping.

He stressed that achieving a cleaner Lagos remained a shared responsibility involving residents, businesses, markets, PSP operators, communities and government agencies.