Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, has reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to establishing facilities that will separate garbage into valuable parts that will also aid in job creation and economic progress.
Gbadegesin, who said this during a radio interview, while speaking on the topic: “War on waste, exploring LAWMA’s vision and mission,’’ disclosed that in the next 18 months, the agency will set up facilities at Ojota and Igando, to separate waste into valuable fractions like organic materials and metals.
“This is to ensure waste is no longer buried in landfills but turned into resources. When these facilities are ready, they will help create jobs and foster economic growth,’’ he stressed.
In addition to offering creative waste management solutions and maximising the potential of the circular economy, he stated that the LAWMA is committed to modernising the waste management system and transforming it from the point of collection to disposal.
He also disclosed that the authority will be establishing a waste to energy plant in Epe, with the Olusosun and Solus-3 landfills, to become material recovery facilities.
The war on waste, the LAWMA chief executive explained, is to discourage locals from “carelessly disposing of refuse because it is still usable and shouldn’t be thrown away. Because they may be used as resources, materials like plastics, paper, aluminium cans, and even textiles are important and should be valued by people.
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“Despite the efforts of scavengers on dumps, we have discovered that the overall recycling rate in Lagos is not even close to 10 percent.”
Additionally, he revealed the collaboration with a Ghanaian company to build revolutionary waste management facilities
“We need more material recovery facilities to promote sustainability. Our collaboration with the Jospong Group of Ghana has made it possible for us to set up cutting-edge waste management facilities.
“A waste-to-energy facility will soon replace a large landfill in Epe. Every day, the facility will transform 2,500 tonnes of garbage into 60 to 80 megawatts of electricity, which would power the Dangote Refinery, the deep seaport, the free trade zone, and other important industrial centres,” he added.