PUNCH report spurs LAWMA to establish waste police unit

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos Waste Management Authority, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, has announced that the agency has recently constituted a coordinated waste police initiative involving key stakeholders, including transport unions and community groups, to strengthen environmental compliance and discourage illegal dumping.

LAWMA announced this in a statement on Tuesday obtained by The PUNCH.

Gbadegesin emphasised that the government had intensified enforcement against indiscriminate waste disposal and other environmental infractions.

This comes weeks after The PUNCH reported that residents in the Ikotun, Idimu, Ejigbo and Egbeda areas of Lagos State decried the indiscriminate dumping and accumulation of refuse along streets and major roads, describing the situation as an eyesore.

Gbadegesin added that the government was also exploring inter-state collaboration to complement existing waste disposal infrastructure, improve operational flexibility, and support more efficient waste evacuation across Lagos State.

“The government had intensified enforcement against indiscriminate waste disposal and other environmental infractions, while recently constituting a coordinated waste police initiative involving key stakeholders, including transport unions and community groups, to strengthen environmental compliance and discourage illegal dumping.

“The government was also exploring inter-state collaboration to complement existing waste disposal infrastructure, improve operational flexibility, and support more efficient waste evacuation across Lagos State,” Gbadegesin said.

He reassured residents that comprehensive measures were being implemented to improve waste evacuation across Lagos, as the government intensifies efforts to strengthen operational efficiency, expand waste management infrastructure, and enhance environmental sanitation.

Gbadegesin acknowledged the operational challenges affecting waste evacuation in some parts of the state and assured residents that the government was actively implementing immediate, medium-term, and long-term solutions to improve service delivery.

According to him, recent operational pressures were partly linked to challenges associated with access to disposal facilities, particularly during the peak of the rainy season.

Gbadegesin revealed that LAWMA’s waste-to-wealth partner, ZoomLion Nigeria Limited, had begun preliminary work to rehabilitate and reopen Road E at the Olusosun facility, a key intervention aimed at improving access, shortening turnaround time, and boosting operational efficiency at the site.

He further stated that the authority had resuscitated and optimised the use of the Transfer Loading Stations across the state as a stop-gap measure to facilitate quicker evacuation of waste from communities while ongoing infrastructure improvements continued.

The LAWMA boss said that the government was also taking steps to support the acquisition of additional waste collection vehicles by PSP operators.

“The expected deployment of 100 Compressed Natural Gas compactor trucks would significantly boost waste evacuation capacity across Lagos, while 10 new compactor trucks donated by the Lagos State Lottery and Gaming Board had already been deployed to strengthen waste collection operations,” he said.

Gbadegesin noted that LAWMA’s disposal facilities received over 418,500 tonnes of waste in May 2026, despite operational challenges experienced during the period, adding that 3,000 blackspots were being cleared daily through ongoing sanitation interventions, while the government continued to invest in infrastructure, equipment, and operational improvements aimed at strengthening service delivery across the state.

He also highlighted the ongoing construction of new Transfer Loading Stations at Olusosun and Solous III, noting that the facilities would collectively divert up to 4,000 tonnes of waste daily to recycling and treatment facilities upon completion, significantly reducing pressure on disposal sites, advancing the state’s circular economy objectives, and complementing the government’s broader commitment to modernising waste management through increased investment in recycling, material recovery, waste diversion, and other sustainable waste-to-resource initiatives.

Gbadegesin urged residents to continue to patronise approved PSP operators, avoid indiscriminate waste disposal, and support ongoing government efforts to maintain a cleaner and healthier environment.

He assured residents that efforts were underway to resolve the current operational challenges and that service delivery would gradually improve as the various interventions began to yield results and reaffirmed LAWMA’s commitment to continuously improving waste management services and assured residents that all relevant stakeholders were working diligently to restore optimal service levels across affected communities.

Last week, The PUNCH reported that residents in the Ikotun, Idimu, Ejigbo and Egbeda areas of Lagos State complained about the indiscriminate dumping and accumulation of refuse along streets and major roads in the area, describing the situation as an eyesore.

This comes days after the Lagos Waste Management Authority announced that its licensed Private Sector Participation operators evacuated 418,500 tonnes of waste across the state in May, averaging 13,200 tonnes daily.