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Lagos is doing a lot in waste recycling, says Environment Commissioner

The Waste Management Society of Nigerian (WAMASON) estimates that nearly 65million metric tons of waste are generated in Nigeria yearly, with Lagos alone, which is the undisputable commercial capital of the country, generating about 13 million metric tons. Of this, about 2,250 tons of plastic waste is generated daily in Lagos; yearly, it is about 821,250 tons. In this interview with Jill Okeke, the Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello, under whose watch the state emerged from being one of the dirtiest to that of beautifully lined roads and streets with green plants and flowers, spoke on what the state is doing to turn the rampant plastic menace to wealth, among others. Excerpts:

The state has many recycling centres but we still have much plastics around as can be seen after a down pour. Please comment on this.

As you may have noticed, the state government is doing a lot in terms of recycling and we are also encouraging private investors to join in the campaign. Recently, we held series of stakeholders’ engagement with relevant people and organisations involved in plastics and plastic packaging on the best available option that will soot us.

In the coming weeks, the state government will be making public, a policy document to regulate activities around the plastic waste value-chain. We are also going to be having aggressive campaign and education of the public on what to do with the PET bottles.

Does the state have a reward system to encourage consumers to return used plastics?

Yes, LAWMA and other private organisations we are collaborating with have a reward system for any member of the public that returned used bottles. We have a spot within my Ministry where people exchange used plastic bottles for cash gift and other items.

A visit to Igando dumpsite last week revealed that the private sector is making money from plastic waste, but they are uncoordinated. How can the government encourage them?

Contrary to your opinion, the market is being regulated by LAWMA, however, I agree that more needs to be done. I am using this opportunity to call on investors that may want to partner with the State to come forward.

Lagos alone generates over 10,000 metric tons of waste daily, 86 per cent made of plastic. What’s the possibility of turning this waste to wealth?

 My Ministry is inundated with proposals on waste-to-wealth. We are appraising them and when we see any of the proposals that is implementable, the government shall surely support such investor/proponent.

 How successful is the Pick-a-Plastic campaign which commenced last December in Badagry? Any plans of extending it to other local government areas?

The pick-a-plastic campaign is a private funded and executed action which the state government is grateful for. We are willing to support other initiative in this regard.

What progress has the government made with the PAKAM application deployed in the recycling programme?

The Pakam Application as you  are aware  is an Uber like mobile application system designed to support the Lagos Recycle Initiative by connecting households to aggregators/recyclers closest to them.

The system is an all-inclusive waste management software application that turns waste to a win-win situation for all. The process is still being fine-tuned and will be unveiled in due time.  



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