The Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, on Saturday, 29th August while addressing journalists during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise in Festac, Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of the state, claimed that there would be an increase its waste evacuation capacity with an additional 220 trucks.
According to him, the new trucks would support the existing Private Sector Participation waste collection system and assist the government with the growing volume of population induced waste generation across the state.
“The state government will be bringing in another 220 trucks to make sure that we supplement our PSP. What we need our people to also do is to make sure that they patronise their PSP, not the cart pushers, because they are not organised. You don’t know where the waste is ending up,” he said.
Hamzat emphasized the need for residents’ cooperation as the growing population translates to a higher waste generation, making residents’ cooperation essential to effective waste management.According to him, residents had a responsibility to ensure proper waste disposal, as improper disposal in canals could obstruct water flow and worsen flooding.
“We cannot be a people without a healthy environment. It doesn’t matter what we do, a cleaner environment is what makes a city or a state sustainable,” he said.
He said the government’s community engagement serves as a means of encouraging residents to develop a culture of sustaining clean and healthy environments for children and other residents.
He highlighted that the Federal Housing Authority had responsibilities in the district, as well as residents and property managers, to comply with environmental regulations of the state.
Meanwhile, he reiterated the state government’s commitment to ensuring that the environment is sustainable and conducive. Hamzat then commended the local government chairman and residents for their participation in the sanitation exercise.
The Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, added that waste management in the state was improving, attributing the progress to the deployment of 24-hour emergency response teams and measures to address challenges at landfills and dumpsites.
Wahab said the state government had also intensified engagement with PSP operators to improve waste collection across the state, noting that the government had intervened in areas where the Lagos State Waste Management Authority would normally avoid.
He revealed that the government was also transitioning from the traditional linear waste management system to a circular system with waste recovered and converted into useful resources.
He addressed reports linking some cart pushers to criminal activities, such as the cutting and theft of metals, stating that the government could not adopt a policy that would worsen security challenges in the state.