The return of refuse to previously cleared locations is testing the Lagos Waste Management Authority’s (LAWMA) efforts to curb illegal dumping.

The recurring problem is also forcing some Lagos residents to seek alternatives as irregular waste collection leaves refuse piling up around homes and neighbourhoods.

LAWMA, in a statement on Friday, said it had intensified enforcement and monitoring to prevent renewed dumping.

In its latest operation in Ayobo-Ipaja, LAWMA impounded two tricycles allegedly used to convey refuse to unauthorised dumping points.

The operation, which focused on Megida and surrounding areas, also involved evacuating accumulated refuse from road medians that had become dumping hotspots.

LAWMA Managing Director Muyiwa Gbadegesin said surveillance showed that illegal trading activities contributed to the recurrence of waste dumping.

He said some traders used road medians as markets, creating conditions that encouraged indiscriminate disposal and made waste management more difficult.

“We are working here right now to clear the accumulated waste and restore the affected areas to acceptable environmental standards.

“At the same time, our enforcement team is on the ground to address the activities responsible for the recurrence of these dumping points,” he said.

For residents, however, the problem goes beyond enforcement, with some saying inconsistent waste collection has left them struggling to keep their surroundings clean.

Nkiru William, a resident of Oshodi, said refuse overflow sometimes reduced after LAWMA cleared the area, but the main waste point remained problematic.

“At Oshodi, refuse is overflowing. From time to time, the overflow will reduce, but the main waste point will remain,” Ms William said.

She said waste accumulated rapidly because it was not evacuated quickly enough.

The Lagos Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, said LAWMA cleared 3,000 black spots across 57 routes every day.

He also said LAWMA secured convictions for 16 environmental offenders arraigned before the Oshodi Special Offences and Mobile Court in July.

Mr Wahab said behavioural change remained critical to sustaining improvements in waste management.

He said Lagos was also reforming its waste infrastructure to move away from the traditional collect-and-dump model.

“The bigger reform is infrastructure. Lagos cannot continue with the old collect-and-dump model,” Mr Wahab said.

The infrastructure upgrade includes Transfer Loading Stations under construction at Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, as well as Material Recovery Facilities in Ikorodu and Badagry.

Mr Wahab also acknowledged complaints about waste evacuation backlogs and service failures affecting some residents.

“So yes, the complaints are valid. Some backlogs should not have happened. Some residents have not received the service they deserve,” he said.

Some residents said irregular collection had pushed them towards informal waste collectors to prevent refuse from accumulating around their homes.

Suliat Johnson, a resident of Haruna, Ogba, said her PSP operator previously collected waste weekly but had stopped coming.

“These past two months, we haven’t seen them around, and the waste is spilling everywhere,” she said.

Ms Johnson said the situation had forced residents to consider cart pushers because accumulated refuse had become difficult to tolerate.

“If we can even find those cart pushers, we will gladly use them because the stench is enough to send someone into depression,” she said.

Similarly, Samuel Akintoluwa, a resident of Agege, said he stopped using LAWMA services because of irregular collection.

“I was using LAWMA before, but they are not consistent, and we pay N3,000 per flat,” he said.

He said the availability of cart pushers influenced his decision to use them instead.

“I use those cart pushers because anytime you need them, they will come,” he said.

Mr Gbadegesin acknowledged that heavy rainfall had affected access, slowed truck movement and temporarily delayed waste evacuation.

“Government rehabilitated Road E, provided new disposal platforms, improved truck circulation, expanded operational access and strengthened evacuation logistics,” he said.

Mr Gbadegesin said the Transfer Loading Stations were expected to be completed within six months, with each designed to handle about 2,500 tonnes of waste daily.

He said behavioural change remained an important challenge alongside infrastructure and waste evacuation.

According to him, Project WISE operations targeted illegal dumping, while the authority also closed markets for persistent violations, arrested offenders and pursued prosecutions.

“Our approach combines enforcement, infrastructure and behavioural change,” Mr Gbadegesin said.

An environmentalist, Friday Oku, president of the Association of Waste Managers and Waste Pickers of Lagos, said household collection needed greater attention.

Mr Oku called for waste pickers to be formally integrated into the waste-management system and linked with PSP operators.

He proposed mapping households and assigning waste pickers to collect refuse and transfer it to designated points.

“Waste pickers should be incorporated into the system and used to collect refuse directly from mapped households and take it to designated points where PSP operators can collect it,” Mr Oku said.

He said formal integration could create jobs while improving accountability within the waste collection chain.

Mr Oku said stronger household collection could also reduce the recurrence of illegal dumping hotspots across Lagos.

“Lasting cleanliness may require improving the collection chain at household level, rather than relying mainly on clearing and enforcement at illegal dumping hotspots,” he said.

(NAN)