Waste Crisis: Sanwo-Olu Declares State Of Emergency In Lagos

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has declared a one-month state of emergency on waste management as the state battles a growing refuse crisis.

The governor made the declaration on Wednesday after inspecting the Olusosun dumpsite in Ojota with his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, and the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, Naija News reports.

Sanwo-Olu said the move was necessary to address the situation and prevent residents from being subjected to more difficulties caused by poor waste disposal.

The governor said efforts would be made to increase the capacity of Olusosun to handle between 350 and 450 waste trucks daily, up from its current capacity of about 250 to 350 trucks.

He said the number of tipping points at the dumpsite would also be increased from the current two or three to four or five to reduce the time trucks spend waiting to discharge refuse.

According to him, the aim is to ensure that waste trucks do not spend several hours or an entire day at dumpsites before they can dispose of their loads.

“We’re here for ourselves to see what is the problem, what is happening, and for us to clearly be able to declare what we will call a small state of emergency, just so that we can get out of this very unpleasant situation,” Sanwo-Olu said.

The state’s waste crisis has been worsened by the volume of refuse generated daily.

Hamzat had recently explained during an interview on Nigerian Info 99.3FM that the state initially estimated its daily waste generation at 13,000 tonnes.

He said the figure had now risen to about 17,000 tonnes daily.

“We thought that we were generating 13,000 tonnes on a daily basis. It turns out we are generating about 17,000,” he said.

Four More Dump Sites To Be Reactivated – Governor Reveals

Sanwo-Olu also announced plans to reactivate more waste disposal locations across the state.

The locations include Solu 3 in Alimosho, Iwulepe in Ikorodu, Oke Osho in Epe and Erikitte in Badagry.

He said work on the road leading to Solu 3 would begin with stabilisation and grading and should be completed within two to three weeks.

Similar work would be carried out at Iwulepe and Oke Osho, with the governor expressing hope that four active dump sites would be available within about six weeks, alongside the Badagry facility.

“This will enhance and improve the turnaround of the trucks on the various roads so that they don’t need to come to the dump site and spend one day, spend 12 hours for them to be able to pick,” he said.

The governor also disclosed that the state government had ordered 160 new compactor trucks to boost waste collection across Lagos.

He said shipment of the trucks would begin soon and would help improve the evacuation of refuse from homes and roads to disposal sites.

According to him, Zoomlion would also procure additional compactor trucks, while the state government would acquire landfill compactors to improve operations at the disposal sites.

Beyond the immediate measures, Sanwo-Olu said the government was working with Zoomlion on a long-term waste management infrastructure programme.

He said a 2,400-metric-tonne transfer loading station was being developed at Olusosun, with another facility of the same capacity planned for Solu 3.

The stations are expected to receive compacted waste before it is moved to material recovery facilities for sorting and further processing.

Two material recovery facilities are also being developed at Oke Osho in Epe and Erikitte in Badagry.

Sanwo-Olu said the projects involve investments worth tens of millions of dollars and are expected to provide a lasting solution to waste generation, disposal and conversion in the state.

He said physical work on the projects should become visible before the end of the year, while the facilities are expected to begin operations between the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter of next year.

The governor further said the government and operators under the Private Sector Participation, PSP, scheme were reviewing the structure and capacity of waste collection operators in Lagos.

He said the operators had agreed to identify those with the capacity, knowledge and financial strength to continue working in the state.

Sanwo-Olu said the government would also carry out an independent review to determine the actual number of effective PSP operators.

“We just don’t want to have 800 PSPs when it is actually only 400 that is effective, or have a number that we’re just carrying the number, and 20 or 30 or 40 of that are not effective,” he said.

He added that the operators had also agreed to buy more compactor trucks, while the state government would consider financing arrangements to reduce the financial pressure on them.

Sanwo-Olu, however, appealed to residents and property owners to pay for waste collection services, stressing that keeping Lagos clean was a shared responsibility between the government, waste operators and residents.