The Lagos State Government on Tuesday urged all residents to key into the State waste to wealth initiative to promote a circular economy, which includes the reduction of the quantum of wastes that end up at landfills, the reuse of waste and the recycling of waste materials for a sustainable environment.
The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources Mr. Tokunbo Wahab stated this when he featured on Arise Television, saying the state government is determined to build a waste management culture which everyone must imbibe for good environmental sanitation.
He said the state officials are already going across the State every Thursday for the Trash for Cash initiative either to give back cash to residents for waste or to pick up waste, stressing that once the government scales it up, there would be a permanent point where residents would come to get a reasonable amount in exchange for their trash.
He said the government is keen to build a waste management culture which is an initiative going on statewide, noting that once the citizens start receiving cash for their trash they will desist from illegal waste disposal which includes dumping of waste on the roads, road setback, median, open spaces, and canals amongst others.
He explained that the state is moving from the linear waste system (pick and drop) which is not sustainable and not environmentally-friendly to a system where waste becomes a resource and waste can be converted into energy.
According to him, in the past two years, the government has been able to put a new narrative on the front burner, encouraging Lagosians, Nigerians, and the Global platforms to come to Lagos to collaborate with the government and help convert waste into compost fertiliser or the recycling of plastics.
“You can also come to Lagos and partner with the government to use waste to generate power (Waste to Energy) or use the state’s compostable waste to power your machines just like what LAFARGE is doing presently and you can use the state’s electronic waste by recycling it to create something new” he added
Wahab averred that the government had signed a concession agreement with a company called Zoom Lion to convert 4,000 tons of daily waste to wealth, 55 per cent of waste to compost fertiliser and recyclables, stressing that what ends up in the landfills will be less than five per cent now.
He said the government is decommissioning some landfills which include Olososun, Ikeja and Soluos 3, Igando because the quantum of wastes that would eventually end up at the landfills would be less than five per cent and because these landfills have outlived their lifespan.
He said it is high time citizens see waste beyond trash but as a resource which is inexhaustible as such waste separation must be imbued by all and start from home, saying once everyone starts separating their waste, the government would scale up the waste management initiative massively.
The Commissioner reiterated that the government had banned cart pushers across the state and put the waste to wealth initiative in place to replace the activities of the cart pushers, advising that everyone must embrace the bigger picture of Lagos which is a clean, safe, flood-free and sustainable state.
He said the effects of the ban on styrofoam and single plastics on flood data have shown that there is a drastic reduction in drainage clogging and flash flooding challenges caused by SUPs and Styrofoam, saying that was part of the reason the government was able to host the E1 speed Boat Race recently.
He recalled that some buildings were recently removed for blocking the Ikota River at Lekki and some at Oworoshoki for urban regeneration, adding the shops demolished at Trade Fair were a result of violating the state law of not getting a building approval before the commencement of project development.
Speaking on the issue of a lady who was recently apprehended on Admiralty Way for cooking, Mr. Wahab said the law is no respecter of any person and that if indeed she was cooking to feed the underprivileged, she should operate within the confines of the law.
According to him, “ I would like to make a plea to Lagosians: The government is building a megacity that is environmentally-friendly, sustainable and more resilient because it is a coastal state. As such residents should ensure they manage their waste differently; do not dump waste illegally, do not build on canals as well as drainage alignments and avoid building on wetlands and flood plain areas.
