The Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) is to acquire 500 mobile tricycle compactors in 2026 to tackle the rising waste challenge in the state.

LAWMA’s managing director/chief executive officer, Muyiwa Gbadegesin, disclosed this at a media parley on Wednesday in Lagos.

Mr Gbadegesin said the mobile tricycle compactors already in hard-to-reach areas, such as Ibeju Lekki, would be extended to other parts of the state for effective waste management.

He said that Lagos State would need a minimum of 2,000 tricycle compactors to tackle the rising waste issue caused by humans and infrastructure challenges.

Mr Gbadegesin said the state, comprising four million households, generated between 13,000 and 15,000 tonnes of waste daily to be collected by 450 Private Sector Partnership (PSP) operators.

He disclosed that the PSP operators had the capacity to collect only between 4,000 and 5,000 tonnes daily out of the 13,000 tonnes generated.

“The balance is going into the drains, canals, lagoons and wetlands, among others.

“We have about 12 per cent of wetlands in Lagos, and people have been dumping waste on the wetlands,” he said.

Mr Gbadegesin urged Lagos residents to embrace the state government’s waste-to-wealth initiative and avoid littering the environment with refuse.

According to the managing director, about 90 per cent of waste generated in the state has value.

He said that the state had a limited space to open up new landfill sites because  of its aquatic nature.

Mr Gbadegesin added that the state  was moving from a linear waste management system to a proper waste management system.

“We are moving from a linear waste management system to a proper waste management system that is environmentally friendly and sustainable, in a way that waste is now seen as a resource.

“The quantum and the quantity of waste that will end up in the landfills will be to the barest minimum.

“The biggest issue right now in waste management is the infrastructure.

“When I talk of infrastructure, I am talking about the equipment and facilities that we will use to collect, transport, treat and dispose of the 13,000 tonnes of waste generated daily in the state.

“The infrastructure includes the whole logistics chain from the bins. Risk management begins from the containerisation, the households, business and the industry.

“We don’t have enough bins. Right now, we have 80,000 smart  bins that we are rolling out, and we need a lot more.

“We have four million Lagos households,” he said.

He appealed to the residents to ensure regular payment of their bills to enable  PSP operators to function more effectively.

Mr Gbadegesin disclosed that 22 PSP operators had been axed and had their slots withdrawn and given to other companies for failure to discharge their duties effectively.

He said that LAWMA would continue to work with local government chairmen to ensure a cleaner Lagos.

He called on the chairmen to take charge of waste management and street trading in their communities.

(NAN)