Residents urge LAWMA to evacuate refuse heaps on streets

Some Lagos residents on Wednesday decried the heaps of refuse on some major roads around the state without prompt evacuation by the Lagos State Waste Management Authority.

In separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria, the residents lamented the indiscriminate dumping of refuse on the roads by some Lagosians.

NAN reports that indiscriminate waste disposal is a common issue in many cities, including Lagos. It can lead to environmental pollution, health hazards, and other negative impacts.

A businesswoman, Ibukun Cole, while speaking to NAN, said residents could avoid littering by disposing of their wastes properly.

“I think we really need to be more enlightened on the dangers of improper waste disposal. It will interest you to know that some people even dispose of waste in the gutters especially when it rains.

“I feel there should be a form of community clean-up and awareness programmes in every area to ensure people know the dangers of indiscriminate refuse dump,” Cole said.

A resident in Agege area of Lagos, Shina Ibrahim, told NAN that LAWMA was not doing enough in evacuating the heaps of refuse in the area.

“Refuse dumps are being scattered all over the area and even in our homes. LAWMA does not come regularly as they should. We need them to regularly show up so that there won’t be heaps of refuse,” he said.

Another resident who lives in the Igando area of the state, Tosin Ogundairo, said residents should take advantage of waste management services and designated bin collection points rather than indiscriminately dumping refuse.

Reacting, the National President of the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria, Olugbenga Adebola, encouraged Nigerians, particularly Lagosians, to patronise PSP operators assigned to their areas for seamless waste evacuation.

Adebola said, “Many tenements don’t pay for their wastes thus cultivating the habit of indiscriminate waste disposal and this is posing great environmental danger to the environment. If you pay, then you can call the attention of the government or your PSP operators directly to say ‘I have not seen my PSP, and because many people do not pay, that is why they are dodging, that is why they will continue to litter the area, and it is only through enforcement that they come alive to their duty.”