LAWMA Hands Over 100 Compactors To PSP Operators

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Recently, the Lagos Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, PSP operators and officials of the Ministry of the Environment gathered at the popular Olusosun landfill to witness the handing over of 100 new compactors to the PSP operators who had been old and second hand compactors.

Handling over the compactors to the ‘waste managers†as they are called, Governor Babatunde Fashola described the PSP as one of the key sectors that is germane to the development of solid waste management.

The governor said the sector has witnessed a progressive change in the last few years which has resulted in a cleaner Lagos.

Fashola said in a bid to address the challenge of waste collection in the state, the use of inappropriate equipment led to roads and highways littered with flying waste in transit. He added that the new waste collection method has successfully overcome the old order with the use of specialized trucks like the compactors, skips and roll-on-roll-off.

The governor said with the new compactors, the efficient and effective waste collection service has just begun in the state.

“I need to assure you that the work of effective and efficient service is just about to begin. The management of LAWMA and PSP have no reason whatsoever not to merge the investment with efficient service delivery.

“The integrity of service is now better assured and frequent complaints of irregular service will be a thing of the past.”

The governor urged residents of the state to cooperate with the PSP operators by patronising them and stop dumping refuse in the drains. He also re-stated the ban on cart pushers, whose activities, he said, has resulted in the desecration of open spaces as well as blocked drainages.

Dr. Titi Anibaba, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the Environment, described the acquisition and handing over of the compactors to the waste managers as a landmark in the history of waste management in the state.

Anibaba said the new compactors would reduce the turn around time, collection of more waste and ensure a cleaner Lagos. She added that the new trucks would boost the PSPs’ efficiency.

She commended Governor Fashola for giving unparallel support and commitment to environmental matters, especially in waste management and climate change in the state.

Anibaba charged the PSP operators to be more committed and dedicated.

Mr. Adegboyega Adepita, the national president of Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria, said the idea of investing in the new compactors had become imperative, adding that the delivery of the new compactors is a right step in the drive to sustain the state’s avowed leadership position in waste management.

Adepitan said for the sustainability of the PSP programme, government needs to tackle the problems of non-payment of accumulated bills, continued increase in the price of the fuel and review of subsidy being paid by the government, which he said are uneconomical.

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He commended the Managing Director of LAWMA, Mr. Ola Oresanya, for being always ready to dialogue with the association on how to overcome problems facing it and how to find last solution to the waste management in the state.

Oresanya, Chief Host of the event, said the acquisition of the compactors is another success story of the partnership between the Fashola led-administration and private investors in waste management. He said the partnership idea is to boost efficiency of PSP in collection of domestic waste and also to serve as one of the key drivers of the economy through the creation of jobs.

He said over 10,000 jobs have been created through PSP operators who have contributed substantial investment into the programme.

The LAWMA boss highlighted some of the challenges of waste collection and disposal in the past to include operating with open trucks at the conceptual stage, incessant breakdown of trucks on the highway, chaotic traffic problems and high turn around time by the aged trucks.

The challenges, he said, caused LAWMA to take over the responsibility of regulating the activities of PSP operators. This, he said, was a major paradigm shift from the use of open trucks to compactors needed for the operators.

Oresanya said in an effort to serve Lagosisans better, the PSP operators approached banks and other financial institutions for loans, but help finally came when Governor Fashola considered and approved the injection of 100 compactors into the fleet of the waste managers.

He commended the governor for his political will, which, he said, made it possible for operators to acquire the new trucks.

Oresanya used the occasion to announce the LAWMA recycle factory. “The Lagos recycling project is on ground; it is no more a dream or mirage; it has started working in Lagos. What we do is that we buy the waste. For a kilogramme of waste, we pay N30 and people have been bringing their waste on a daily basis. This has also created jobs for some people.

“Some of these wastes are recycled into waste bags, nylon and plastic bottles, but because of our own jobs, the waste are recycled to waste nylon bags, which we give out to our PSP operators for onward distribution to tenements.”

“This is a project that the Lagos State government has really done so much for to ensure its viability.” The challenges of the project, he said, include the cost of washing the polythene bags and we have to run the operation 24 hours.

“This has to do with alternative power supply, and the cost of running electricity generators is enormous, because of the price of diesel and the spare parts of the recycling machine.

“However, the machine and the parts are no longer a challenge as the parts are now manufactured locally,” he added.

Oresanya also announced to the PSP operators that the state government has approved the giving out of a brand new compactor to the best PSP operator.

—Paul Sanusi

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