Lagos to acquire 100 new CNG compactor trucks in fresh push for cleaner city

In a state where 13,000 tons of waste is generated every single day, managing such waste poses a huge challenge, and that is the lot of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre.

But the state government assures residents that it is doing all within its power to ensure that they have a cleaner city, disclosing that several plans are being perfected for both immediate and future actions on waste.

Muyiwa Gbadegesin, the managing director of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), who gave this assurance at an interactive session with the media recently, revealed that 100 new CNG compactor trucks will be procured in 2026.

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This ambitious move, according to Gbadegesin, which is part of a 10-year development plan, will be complemented by the procurement of 500 compactor tricycles, as part of solution to the agency’s logistics problems with waste disposal.

Subsequently, he said, the state would be introducing between 200 to 250 new trucks every year, adding, “to keep Lagos clean, we still need compactor trucks; we need about 2000 trucks. 1000 for the day-to-day fleet and 1000 for backup.”

To come alongside this equipment procurement are innovations in the whole waste disposal process. “This is a long-term investment package that would be supported by a state-wide billing system. We will undertake enumeration of every household and billing by the state government.

Through automation, residents will now get a bill from the state government. When they pay and we confirm that the PSP operators have done the job, we pay them,” he said.

At the moment, LAWMA is working towards having transparency and accountability in the system, and this, according to Gbadegesin, is anchored on the belief that Lagos residents are ready to pay for waste collection if they will get good service, which is what the agency will ensure going forward.

He also stated that as part of measures to sanitise the waste collection and disposal system and ensure standards, the agency has terminated the contract of about 22 PSP waste operators for underperformance this year and has gone ahead to give the slot to new ones that are ready to do business.

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The managing director described the compactor tricycles as Ibeju Lekki model, explaining that the use of that mini-compactor has become imperative because many areas are very difficult to reach due to the narrowness of the roads and the inaccessibility of some.

“Currently, we are running this system in Ibeju Lekki. The chairman of Ibeju Lekki Local Government Area, Sesan Olowa, came to us about a year ago, complaining that the PSP operators in the area were not going into the communities and that he wanted to introduce tricycle compactors.

Around the same time, we got information about an entrepreneur who just brought in tricycle compactors. So, we advised that both parties could collaborate, and today they have been running that system so well that the people have embraced it,” he said.

As a result of that, he said, “we have now decided we can replicate this in other parts of Lagos; we had a meeting with all Local Government Areas recently where they all pledged to support the new system.”

Gbadegesin stressed that adopting the new mobile compactor tricycle can also allow some cart pushers to use the system, adding that the PSP operators can buy some, engage cart pushers and put them on salary, leading to a more efficient system for Lagos.

He assured his agency’s commitment to maintaining a cleaner environment, urging residents to stop dumping refuse on roads and in canals, warning that any resident caught disposing of refuse in drainage channels and unauthorised places will contend with the provisions of the state sanitation laws.

Read also: Reimagining waste management in Lagos for a cleaner urban future

As part of measures to ensure efficient waste management, the managing director advised all residents to embrace waste separation, adding that they should stop throwing everything away and start sorting, as is done in advanced countries.

“90 percent of what you throw away has value. We must start sorting our waste, collecting it and giving it to those who are in need of it. Waste to wealth is the key to the survival of Lagos. When you go to Olusosun and Solous 3, you will see it”, he said.

Continuing, he said, “In Lagos, we must move to a point where we ban landfill sites, and that is what we are moving towards as a state government. We have commenced the process of decommissioning Olusosun and Soluos 3 within the next 18 months. We have already gone into two months out of those 18 months. Just give us an allowance for plus or minus. We are committed to decommissioning them.”

SENIOR ANALYST - REAL ESTATE

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