Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos Waste Management Authority, Muyiwa Gbadegesin, talks to EMMANUEL OJO about the recent crack down on major markets in the state by the agency over the contravention of the state’s environmental protection law
Some major markets in the state were recently shut down by the Lagos Waste Management Authority. What was responsible for that action?
Environmental protection laws require the markets to maintain a healthy and hygienic environment. They (traders) are expected to clean the markets daily. They are expected to provide containers to manage their waste. We also gave them containers and charged (a fee). They are supposed to pay for Private Sector Partnership (waste collectors).
By law, they are not allowed to dump waste indiscriminately in front of the market, inside the market, outside the market, or in the drains and many of them are doing that. For us, as LAWMA, it’s our responsibility to ensure that everyone, all businesses and households manage their waste responsibly for the good health of all Lagosians. So, any market, especially the food markets, that manages waste badly, is a risk to the health of the people of Lagos and we don’t want to allow that. So, it’s for the sake of health. In talking about the environment, there is a direct connection to good health.
The agency decried the level of flooding in some parts of the state. Do you think the way markets have been managed contributed to the flooding recorded in recent months?
Yes, and that is because, as you know, Lagos is a low-lying state; we are at sea level, and some areas are even below sea level. So, we have a very good and adequate system of drainage channels, both primary, secondary, and tertiary, and most markets and households dump wastes inside those drains and that obviously means that once it rains, the water has nowhere to go and then you have a flood. So, it (flood) is what is created by the people; it is a man-made problem. So, the best way to maintain that is to keep the waste inside the container and not dump it inside the drains. It’s against the laws anyway.
Many markets in Lagos remain untidy, despite threats from the state government to seal them up. Is this the first time LAWMA is carrying out such an operation to enforce the law?
There had been sanctions in the past, but we have now adopted a zero-tolerance approach. Before we sanction them, we do engage with them and plead with them to manage their waste well but I think maybe we had been too lenient with them in the past and that’s why sometimes, you just see them go back to their old ways. We are changing that approach now. So, it’s going to be a continuous process. I was there at Mile 12 yesterday (October 15, 2023) with my team and we told them (traders) we would be monitoring daily. I will be there next week as well. If the market is untidy, we will definitely shut it down again.
Were the traders duly notified before the market was shut down?
We didn’t just wake up and decided to close them, we had served them abatement notices before doing that. So, they are aware and they know what their responsibilities are. If they go back to being untidy, we will close them down again.
Why are you convinced that the closure of affected markets will curb indiscriminate waste disposal and help the agency achieve its objectives?
What gives me the conviction, as I said, is that our approach is zero tolerance. Just because they paid the fine doesn’t mean that we are going to leave them. If they violate the regulations again, we will shut them down again, and fine them again and if we need to do that 10 times in a month, we will do that. That’s how it should be. If you go to a developed society, the only way the society becomes a better society is by being fair and applying the law regardless of who is affected, whether it’s in the United States, United Kingdom, or France, and Nigerians like visiting those countries. The one difference between those societies and here is that they have laws there and no matter who you are, once the law is applied against you, that’s it and that’s what we are trying to create.
What’s your definition of zero tolerance?
Zero tolerance means that as a government, we have to uphold the law regardless of who it affects. So, it is our responsibility to enforce the law, and that means that we don’t tolerate any deviation from the law.
Did you consider the ripple effects this could have on Nigerians, in terms of the availability of food, especially with the level of hunger in the country?
Yes. Some people say the Mile 12 market provides food for many in Lagos and the food prices will go up, and people would be hungry but what we are saying is if the market is untidy and the place they sell food is unhygienic, people will get sick. We saw how the whole world was affected by the COVID-19 outbreak which started from a filthy market in China. So, we are trying to prevent more negative consequences by enforcing the laws of sanitation and food hygiene.
To what extent would you say that environmental protection laws are implemented in the state?
In Lagos, we have a good system and good laws and many people patronise the PSP (waste collectors); there are bins but not everywhere. We want to do more advocacy and awareness. We have advocacy teams now and as we speak; they are going round the communities, talking to people and engaging them, explaining what they should be doing as far as managing their waste responsibly is concerned.
LAWMA also established the LAWMA Academy which trains young people in primary and secondary schools. It concluded a programme a few weeks ago. We are going to have waste management as part of the school curriculum, so, as we improve that level of awareness on responsible waste management, you see a lot of improvements but that doesn’t mean that not knowing the law or not knowing how to manage waste is an excuse to break that law. So, it’s a continuous process of engagement, advocacy and enforcement.
Lagos is a densely populated state which makes it difficult to manage waste. Does LAWMA have the relevant technology required to manage waste in a mega area like Lagos?
We have a population of over 20 million people (in Lagos) and we have people of low-income, medium-income, and high income. There are varieties of the segment of the population. We have challenges in many of the low-income areas; maybe they can’t afford to pay the waste bill or they don’t want to pay or the place is inaccessible. Maybe the access road is not good. So, we are redesigning the waste management system to fit those areas. We are introducing tricycles for waste collection in areas that are not accessible, where the residents can use the ‘pay as you go’ method. The tricycles will get there and they will pay. Then the vehicles will go to a communal waste depot, from where we can evacuate more efficiently. The trucks can’t even access a lot of areas. In fact, we are having a meeting with one of the local governments. They have come to us and said that they want that system because it’s going to function better. They don’t have good roads in those areas and some are developing areas.
One of the things we want to introduce as a policy of the state government is a circular economy, which means we are going to recycle more. Forty per cent of our waste is recycled, so that means it has value. We have plastics, we have papers and there are organic wastes that can be turned into compost for farming and gardening. There are glass and metals. All these things have value. Right now in Lagos, we are dumping all that into the landfill and now, we have waste pickers. I’m sure you are aware of the waste pickers going to the landfill to pick out the items. Rather than doing that, what we want to do is to bring that waste collection closer to the point of generation. So, we want to create community recycling centres, and material recovery activities around the state. Those plans are in the advanced stages and we should start seeing some evidence of that very soon.
So, instead of us dumping all the waste, we try to create value and create jobs and that’s what you see in other developed societies. They try not to generate. They reduce and reduce, then recycle. That’s the mantra all over the world and that’s where Lagos has moved to.
Many residents in some of the areas you said can’t be accessed by waste disposal trucks patronise local waste collectors who use carts. Are they recognised by LAWMA and do they dispose of the waste properly without causing further harm to the environment?
They are not currently recognised and their activities are illegal. We are looking for ways of formalising and engaging with them. Currently, we arrest them. We have a programme where we go and we arrest them, seize the carts but we are looking for ways to also engage them as I just talked about – the circular economy. So, we enumerate them and then we train them so that instead of them going to dump in the drainage, they can help us even gather plastics and bring them to the recycling centre.
Have you started that?
We have started that. We started enumeration. We have a programme we have launched. We want to know who they are, have their details, and maybe put them in a uniform but let them be monitored effectively so that whatever they are doing, we will be able to regulate them well, the same thing with the waste pickers at the dumpsite. We want to move them to the community to collect, as we said, closer to the point of generation, not on the dumpsite because we believe that the dumpsite is unsanitary. People should not go there without protective clothes but they can provide value by helping to keep plastics from ending in the waste in the first place.
Lagos is also characterised by slums, where some residents dispose of their waste in the water and lagoons. What’s the plan of the agency for these slums?
Yes, we are working with other agencies in the state to help those communities better manage their waste. You know, I mentioned communal waste depots. For those areas, we create a central point where they can bring the waste and then the PSP can take it from that location and then dump it in. In some areas, they use it to reclaim land and that is also an illegal activity and they pollute the waterways too. So, yes, we have a plan to tackle that too.
Does the agency have a proactive plan to curb the outbreak of diseases in major markets?
That’s why we are shutting down the markets in the first place to prevent such outbreaks. Once there is an outbreak, it’s left to the Ministry of Health and the (affected) local government to respond as we don’t have the capacity for that. We are the waste line of defence to ensure that the waste is managed well. If we are doing our job well as we are trying to do now, by enforcing cleanliness and hygiene in the market to avoid such outbreaks; that’s the ultimate goal. You know I mentioned initially that it’s not just about having clean environments. It’s about having a healthy environment. It’s not just things like cholera. What about malaria? Malaria comes from blocked gutters where you have stagnant water. Once you have waste in the gutter, the water can’t flow. Mosquitoes can breed there and that’s why we have such poor health in the country.
What are the penalties for contravening environmental law?
We have started arresting people dumping waste indiscriminately. So, I will use this opportunity to say that we will be arresting people who dump waste indiscriminately on the road, and on the median. Some of them will end up in jail.
Some residents believe the waste bill in Lagos is exorbitant. So you share their concerns?
We believe it is affordable. We want a smart bin and we are moving towards that but realistically, it’s the medium to high income who can afford that. However, the law says you must have a covered receptacle, it doesn’t have to be a smart bin but we are encouraging the use of a smart bin so that we can track the efficiency of its collection. I believe they (residents) can afford the bills and it’s important they do. if they can’t afford it, look at the negative consequences of dumping waste indiscriminately- epidemic and flood. See how people suffer when there is flooding. It is because they dump waste indiscriminately. In Lagos, you will see that some of the canals are blocked with waste, so, when a flood enters a person’s house, how much money is he going to lose? That’s why we insist that they must pay; it is just that a lot of people don’t prioritise or see the importance of it. So, that’s why for us, at LAWMA, we need to do a lot of that advocacy and that’s why we are doing all these through newspapers, radio, television, and grassroots advocacy.
