Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, today commissioned 102 brand new waste collection trucks and 100 double dino bins, to strengthen waste management operations in the state, and to consolidate on the efforts of Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA).
Speaking during the official commissioning of the brand trucks and double dino bins, at the Lagos House, Ikeja, Sanwo-Olu, said the unveiling was a remarkable one, because it marked the fulfillment of his administration’s promise to improve the environment, making it cleaner and livable for all Lagosians.
He said his administration was determined to enhance effective waste management across the city, with huge amounts invested in refurbishing various dumpsites, urging residents to continue to patronise PSP operators servicing their areas.
The governor further noted that the state had rolled out a City Monitor app, to enable residents monitor the environment and report the black spots to LAWMA, for immediate attention and evacuation.
He said, “In our government, under the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda, solid waste management represents a critical hub in Environment and Health Pillar. Our promise at that time was to empower LAWMA to effectively drive the elimination of waste accumulation in Lagos and adoption of a recycling method statewide, as well as harness the potential for job creation and other opportunities in waste recovery, waste reuse, waste repair, waste remanufacturing and material innovation”.
He applauded the entire LAWMA workforce, for working assiduously to entrench the culture of cleanliness in the state, noting that the state government would continue to give the Authority necessary support to performance its statutory duties.
In his welcome address, the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tunji Bello, said the launch of the new trucks and double dino bins, was one that would enhance the operational capacity of LAWMA.
He said the commissioning of the locally assembled trucks and bins, would go a long way in improving waste evacuation efforts, with attendant positive effects on the environment and people living in it.
The managing director of LAWMA, Mr. Ibrahim Odumboni, gave a brief on the new equipment, stressing that the trucks were locally designed and assembled, while the dino bins were fabricated by LAWMA’s engineering department.
While appreciating the Lagos State Government for procuring the equipment, he noted that they would be distributed among LAWMA formations and operational districts, across the 57 LCDAs, for effective waste evacuation.
Odumboni said the Authority was expanding its horizon in the area of recycling, noting that over 6000 formal and informal workers had been employed via the Lagos Recycle Initiative of the Authority, which has positively impacted waste management in the state.
“The volume of waste generated in the State is so huge that we need mobile waste management trucks in good working condition to effectively manage it. This is why Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has given us much of the things we require to function. The new trucks will be distributed to cover major areas in Lagos and, as such, there is no excuse not to deliver”.
“We will get to that point in this administration, when electricity will be generated from wastes. We have a mandate from the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, to deliver and we understand the peculiarity of Lagos, so we want to ensure that things are done properly. “We are intensifying efforts to turn wastes to energy; wastes can be extracted and turned to energy,” Odumboni affirmed.
He appealed to residents to always support efforts of the agency to rid the state of waste, by patronizing assigned PSP operators and paying their waste bills promptly.
In his goodwill message, the president of the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAMN), Lagos State chapter, Mr. David Oriyomi, thanked the state government for supporting PSP operations since its inception.
Highpoint of the event, was the unveiling of the brand new 102 waste collection trucks and 100 double dino bins, by Mr. Governor and other dignitaries, including the deputy governor, Dr. Kadri Hamzat.
