Opportunity opens in Lagos for investors in solid waste management

For big time players in solid waste management, fresh investment opportunity has opened in Lagos State government, consistent with its megacity status, has unveiled a new waste management initiative aimed to address the existing challenges in solid waste management in the state.

Known as ‘Cleaner Lagos Initiative’, this ambitious outing is not just the state’s response to its changing status, but also an attempt at reforming its waste management sector by addressing the existing challenges and transforming its environment and economy.

At a press conference jointly addressed recently by Steve Ayorinde, Commissioner for Information & Strategy, and Babatunde Adejare, Commissioner for the Environment, where reasons were given for the cancellation of the monthly sanitation exercise in the state, the government officials also explained that the new initiative was aimed to protect the environment, human health and social living standards.

Lagos has a subsisting waste management agency known as the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), but Adejare stated that the new initiative was intended to bridge the gaps in LAWMA operations and also to expand its scope to enable it enforce, regulate and generate revenue from waste management.

“LAWMA in its role as regulator is overwhelmed by the responsibilities of having to coordinate the activities of 350 individual companies and still carry out its own collection services; the billing system is unduly complicated due to the differences and inconsistencies in charges and collection routes which leaves the billing system open to manipulation and fraud”, the commissioner said, noting that many individual operators have failed to fulfill the obligations on their trucks.

As a way out of this situation, the commissioner disclosed the state government plans to transform  the existing Transfer Loading Station (TLS), introduce about 25 Material Revolving Facility (MRF) where wastes will be sorted, acquire about 600 new compactor vehicles, and also close waste dumpsites and replaced them with engineered sanitary landfill sites.

These measures, he explained, became necessary in view of increased population of Lagos, adding that the over 300 compactors in use by LAWMA and the PSP operators were not only ineffective, but also moribund. “Wastes should not bring us hardship and shame, but rather we should make money from it. Emphasis will be on zero-dumping, recycling and generation of power from wastes”, he said.

The commissioner assured that the PSP operators would not be sent away, but to fit into the new dispensation, “government would carry out a recertification of all the 350 PSP operators, relicense them and audit the state of their compactors”.

Apart from the improved environmental and sanitary condition of the state, the new initiative will also be coming with economic empowerment as it will be employing about 25,000 community sanitation workers who will be engaged mostly as street sweepers. “They will be well kitted with decent uniforms, gloves, boots, pickers, brushes, carts as well as mobile phones with which to communicate with the control centre. And they will be well paid”, the commissioner assured.

Continuing, he said, “every sanitation worker will reside in the Ward they operate for convenience and to curb high cost of transport to work. They will be well trained and given an attractive welfare package. In all, we hope to generate a total of 46,000 new jobs”.

Characteristic of Lagos, a law is already being perfected to back and support the new Initiative, and the commissioner explained that the law would allow big-time players in the waste management sector to do business with the state, adding, “Lagosians will be required to pay a public utility levy (PUL) which is not a tax but something similar to what is currently being paid to PSP operators; part of the PUL will go into an Environment Trust Fund.”

CHUKA UROKO