Lagos Ditches Aging Landfills for Recycling, Waste-to-Energy Plants

The Lagos State Government is set to phase out its ageing landfills and replace them with material recovery facilities and waste-to-energy plants as the state intensifies efforts to address its worsening waste management crisis.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos Waste Management Authority, Muyiwa Gbadegesin, disclosed this during LAWMA’s mid-year media parlay. He stated that the state had faced significant challenges at its major dump sites in recent months, particularly during the rainy season, with flooding of access roads and disposal platforms, as well as the dwindling capacity of some landfills to receive waste.

Gbadegesin described the capacity of the dump site itself to receive waste as limited, saying, "It can properly be called an expired landfill." The agency has embarked on engineering interventions to extend the operational capacity of the affected sites while developing alternative waste management facilities.

According to him, the state had embarked on engineering interventions to extend the operational capacity of the affected sites while developing alternative waste management facilities. The rehabilitation of Road E, the second access road to the landfill, and the construction of two disposal platforms had improved access and reduced turnaround time for waste trucks.

He said the intervention, carried out with the support of ZoomLion Nigeria, had contributed to an increase in the number of truck trips to the site, rising from 1,394 in one week to 1,781 the subsequent week.

Gbadegesin added that the agency was developing two major transfer loading stations at Olusosun and Solous, with the Olusosun facility expected to receive 2,500 tonnes of waste daily in a controlled indoor environment.

The transfer loading stations will process bulk waste and separate it into organic waste, plastics, metals, and textiles. According to him, about half of the waste fraction would comprise organic materials, which would be converted into compost for farmers and gardeners, while plastics would be used to produce waste bins for residents.

He stated that LAWMA had increased its capacity with 10 additional trucks, six of which were being used for direct house-to-house collection in areas of Mushin without PSP operators. The agency is also expecting 150 additional compactor trucks by the end of the year.

The LAWMA boss also disclosed that the state had begun the process of reforming the PSP sector, involving 438 operators covering 377 wards across Lagos. He said six working groups had been established to review the sector and submit their reports within one month, after which the recommendations would be presented to the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, the Executive Council, and the House of Assembly for approval.

The goal is to have a restructured PSP programme that will have the necessary investment, infrastructure, and equipment in the form of trucks to serve the needs of Lagosians with respect to the collection of waste.

Gbadegesin said the state was also strengthening enforcement against indiscriminate waste disposal, with five enforcement units operating daily in collaboration with relevant agencies. The policy is zero tolerance for indiscriminate waste disposal, and anyone who engages in it will be enforced against to the fullest extent of the law.

According to him, 259 environmental offenders were prosecuted between January and July, with all 259 convicted. LAWMA has increased its capacity with 10 additional trucks and is expecting 150 additional compactor trucks by the end of the year.