Lagos strengthens waste management, flood control
Lagos strengthens waste management, flood control
The Lagos State Government says it is strengthening waste management and flood control through infrastructure, operational reforms and environmental interventions.
The Voice Media Trust (VMT NEWS) reports that the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, said this in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos.
The statement was signed by Mr Kunle Adeshina, Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources.
Wahab said the state was investing in modern transfer loading stations, material recovery facilities, recycling, composting and the Epe waste-to-energy project.
He said the initiatives were designed to move Lagos from traditional waste disposal practices towards resource recovery, energy generation and economic value.
Wahab said Lagos generated an estimated 13,000 to 15,000 tonnes of municipal waste daily, partly due to population growth and influx of people.
He said the Lagos Waste Management Authority LAWMA and Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators evacuated approximately 418,500 tonnes in May 2026.
According to him, the figure represented an average of about 13,200 tonnes of waste evacuated daily.
The commissioner acknowledged collection failures, underperforming PSP operators and operational bottlenecks within the waste management system.
He said delays at disposal facilities could affect truck turnaround, disrupt collection schedules and lead to refuse accumulation across neighbourhoods.
Wahab said rehabilitation of Road E and additional disposal platforms at Olusosun had improved operational efficiency.
He said truck movements across disposal facilities rose to 1,866 in the week following the intervention, while Olusosun trips increased from 574 to 1,012.
He added that the state was strengthening property enumeration, geocoded service locations, GPS tracking, weighbridge measurements and waste recovery records.
According to him, the government was also reforming the PSP system and sanctioning or terminating operators where necessary.
Wahab said monthly environmental sanitation exercises could not substitute for an effective daily waste management system.
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He said the government was monitoring tonnes collected, completed routes, missed collections, complaints resolved and waste diverted from landfills.
On flooding, Wahab said Lagos had invested in drainage infrastructure, pump stations, year-round maintenance and flood abatement operations.
He listed wetland preservation, removal of structures on floodplains, and restrictions on styrofoam and single-use plastics among the interventions.
The commissioner said government assessments showed that the interventions had reduced flooding incidents by 75 to 80 per cent statewide.
He, however, acknowledged that flooding remained a challenge because of Lagos’ coastal geography, tidal conditions and climate change.
Wahab said in spite of resilient drainage infrastructure, flash flooding could not be completely eliminated in a coastal megacity.
