Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has declared what he described as a “small state of emergency” on waste management as the government moves to tackle mounting refuse collection and disposal challenges across the metropolis.
Sanwo-Olu made the declaration during an inspection of the Olusosun dumpsite in Ojota, where he assessed the operational challenges affecting waste collection and disposal in the state.
The governor was accompanied by his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, and the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab.
Sanwo-Olu acknowledged the pressure on the state’s waste management system, which has resulted in refuse piling up in some areas and the indiscriminate dumping of waste.
He said the emergency measures were necessary to immediately restore efficient waste collection and disposal across Lagos.
“We are here for ourselves to see what the problem is and what is happening, so that we can clearly declare what we will call a small state of emergency,” the governor said.
As part of the immediate intervention, the state government plans to increase the daily intake capacity of Olusosun dumpsite from between 250 and 350 trucks to between 350 and 450 trucks.
The increase will be achieved by expanding the number of active tipping points at the facility from two to as many as five.
The government is also working on other disposal facilities, including Solu 3, Iwulepe in Ikorodu, Oke-Osho in Epe and Erikitte in Badagry.
Sanwo-Olu said the government expects four dumpsites — Olusosun, Solu 3, Iwulepe and Oke-Osho — to be fully operational within six weeks, with Erikitte expected to serve as a fifth facility.
According to him, spreading waste disposal across multiple sites will significantly reduce the time spent by waste trucks at dumpsites and improve their turnaround on Lagos roads.
“What that will do is enhance and improve the turnaround of trucks on the various roads, so that they do not come to one dump site and spend 12 hours or even an entire day before they can discharge,” he said.
The governor said the measures were part of immediate, medium and long-term interventions aimed at restoring sanity to Lagos’ waste management system and preventing further deterioration in refuse collection across the metropolis.
