… talks tough on placement of abatement notices
The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has set 1st April 2023, as commencement date for placement of abatement notices on homes without waste bins across the state, in a move aimed at ensuring proper waste management and environmental hygiene in Lagos State.
Commenting on the development, Managing Director/CEO of LAWMA, Ibrahim Odumboni, noted the importance of waste bins in homes for promoting a clean and healthy environment, adding that bins provided a designated space for domestic waste disposal, helping to prevent littering and indiscriminate dumping of refuse on streets.
He said, “Proper waste management is a key component of maintaining a clean and healthy environment. Waste bins provide a designated location for waste disposal, and this helps to prevent the spread of diseases and maintain a hygienic environment”.
He also warned that the enforcement of the use of waste bins by tenements across the state would begin on 1st June, 2023, stressing that, the agency has set up a task force responsible for ensuring compliance in all homes.
“We have set up a task force that will be responsible for enforcing the use of waste bins across the state. The task force will be working closely with community leaders, stakeholders and other relevant agencies to ensure compliance with the policy,” he emphasised.
Odumboni in a statement signed and issued by the Authority’s Head, Publif Affairs Mrs. Folashade Kadiri urged residents to embrace the use of waste bins and make it a habit to dispose of their waste in a responsible manner, calling on landlords and property owners to provide waste bins for their properties and ensure they are regularly emptied and maintained.
In a related development, LAWMA has organised an orientation programme for its enforcement and abatement notice teams, on standard rules and proper conduct while engaging tenements on the issue of procurement of smart waste bins, for their homes.
The Executive Director of Finance, Kunle Adebiyi, who represented the MD/CEO of LAWMA, at the event, emphasised the importance of the authority’s Adopt-a-Bin project, meant to curb waste migration,
indiscriminate dumping, and to enhance waste recycling, while helping to reduce the amount of waste going to the landfills.
On his own part, LAWMA’s chief technical officer, Dr. Olorunwa Tijani, who spoke on the topic, “Bin Placement and Evacuation”, advised tenements to place their waste bins at strategic places to make them
accessible for seamless evacuation by assigned PSP operators.
Dr. Essien Nsuabia, Assistant General Manager, Sustainability and Partnership, who moderated the training, spoke on “Overview and Policies on Adopt-a-Bin”, emphasised that the initiative was aimed at ensuring effective waste containerisation in homes, offices and other facilities.
Akin Alabi of WasteCare Solutions, explained that the smart bins could
be purchased online through the website, www.buylawmabin.com, adding that deliveries would take three working days, once payment was confirmed.
Other facilitators at the orientation programme included the head Legal
Services, Uthman Rilwan; the head of LAWMA Academy, Elizabeth Ademola; the head of Recycling, Jirinsola Okunbanjo, and the head of Corporate Affairs, Olaniyan Aramide. Senior LAWMA officials were also in attendance.