The Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) says it will begin enforcement of the use of waste bins by households from January 2023 without households risking a fine or imprisonment.

LAWMA’s managing director, Ibrahim Odumboni, announced this on Tuesday during the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAMN)’s annual general meeting.

Mr Odumboni said LAWMA would collaborate with AWAMN to ensure households use bins to dispose of waste appropriately. He said households ought to have two bins, one for plastics and the other for organic waste.

The LAWMA boss added that the agency had printed out the first batch of 250,000 abatement notices and, from October 1, would issue them to households without bins.

He said the law stipulated a minimum fine of N50,000 and a maximum of three months’ imprisonment for erring individuals.

”It is our duty to ensure that we promote bins to them. We have to make sure that all the households under us have a bin, be it that they are going to pay for it as part of their waste bill, be it that they are going to buy now and pay later, be it that they are going to buy their own, it is mandatory for them to have the bins,” he said.

Mr Odumboni urged the waste managers to promote the use of the wheelie bin, as it would help to enhance the efficiency of the job.

The president of AWAMN, David Oriyomi, said waste management operators needed to move beyond the issue of collecting refuse, transporting it and disposing of it at the dumpsites.

(NAN)