Agency says residents and businesses bypassing approved waste collectors are fuelling recurring refuse black spots across Apapa

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, has blamed the persistence of refuse black spots across parts of Lagos on residents and businesses that deliberately avoid approved waste collection services to evade payment.

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Speaking after a major environmental sanitation exercise in the Apapa area, Gbadegesin said LAWMA had intensified efforts to eliminate illegal dumpsites but warned that sustained progress would depend on greater public compliance with the state’s waste management regulations.

The clean-up operation covered Marine Beach, Warehouse Road, Randle Road, Mobile Road and several other locations identified as recurring refuse black spots.

Gbadegesin said the intervention forms part of the agency’s broader strategy to improve waste evacuation and strengthen environmental sustainability across Lagos.

“Many of the people generating waste in these locations are not captured within the formal PSP system. As a result, despite repeated evacuation exercises by LAWMA and PSP operators, the waste keeps reappearing.

We cannot continue to expend public resources in clearing the same locations while some individuals persist in illegal waste disposal practices,” he said.

The LAWMA chief noted that the agency repeatedly deploys personnel and equipment to clear illegal dumpsites, only for many of the locations to become contaminated again within a short period.

He stressed that government efforts alone would not deliver lasting improvements without the active participation of residents, commercial operators, markets and institutions.

According to Gbadegesin, the agency is expanding access to waste collection services through the deployment of tricycle compactors and other innovative systems designed to serve communities where conventional compactor trucks cannot easily operate.

He also disclosed that LAWMA is working to integrate willing cart pushers into a regulated waste collection framework to improve service delivery in underserved areas while reducing indiscriminate dumping.

The initiative, he said, is expected to address some of the structural challenges contributing to illegal waste disposal across the state.

Gbadegesin further encouraged households and businesses to embrace waste separation at source by sorting recyclable materials, including plastics, paper, cardboard, glass and aluminium, before disposal.

“A significant proportion of the materials currently disposed of as waste still retain economic value and can be recovered through recycling and resource recovery initiatives. By embracing waste sorting at sources, residents can support environmental sustainability while contributing to the circular economy,” he said.

He described a clean environment as essential to public health, sustainable urban development and economic growth, urging Lagos residents to take greater responsibility for their surroundings by patronising approved Private Sector Participant (PSP) operators, complying with environmental laws and reporting waste management violations through LAWMA’s established channels.

The agency’s renewed enforcement drive comes as Lagos continues to grapple with indiscriminate waste disposal in several densely populated communities despite regular evacuation exercises and public awareness campaigns.

State authorities have repeatedly warned that illegal dumping contributes to blocked drainage channels, flooding, environmental pollution and public health risks, particularly during the rainy season.

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Commenting on the exercise, Chairman of Apapa Local Government, Idowu Senbanjo, commended LAWMA for the intervention and pledged the council’s continued collaboration with the agency to promote environmental cleanliness and sustainable waste management across the local government area.