LAWMA clarifies waste collection system
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin
Nike Popoola
The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has urged media organisations to exercise diligence and contextual accuracy in reporting on waste management operations as it clarifies the operational framework guiding solid waste collection and disposal across Lagos State.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin stated this on Friday while responding to recent media reports on waste evacuation challenges in parts of the state.
A statement from the Director, Public Affairs, Mukaila Sanusi, said he explained that routine household waste collection was executed by licensed Private Sector Participant (PSP) operators under strict regulatory supervision and performance monitoring, contrary to assertions that LAWMA was directly responsible for carting away municipal solid waste from households.
“LAWMA enforces defined service benchmarks and maintenance standards while activating targeted interventions wherever performance gaps are identified. I urge residents to report service gaps whenever they observe them,” he said.
Dr. Gbadegesin clarified that compactor trucks deployed for residential evacuation were owned and operated by PSP operators, adding that LAWMA inscriptions on the vehicles served regulatory identification purposes and not sign of institutional ownership.
He affirmed that all designated landfill facilities across Lagos State remained operational, professionally managed, and fully accessible to licensed operators for seamless and compliant waste disposal.
The Managing Director said that waste management in the burgeoning Lagos Megacity of over 22 million people should be viewed through the prism of ongoing reforms in the sector, including the optimisation of Transfer Loading Stations (TLS) to improve fleet turnaround time and operational efficiency, as well as the expansion of Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) as part of the State’s transition toward a circular economy anchored on recycling, resource recovery, and reduced landfill dependency.
He called for concerted efforts from both government and residents in ensuring a cleaner city, noting that waste management in the state remained challenged by rapid urbanisation, uncontrolled migration, and behavioural practices that undermine compliance.
He warned that indiscriminate dumping and the patronage of illegal cart pushers undermined structured waste operations, reaffirming that LAWMA’s ongoing reforms in infrastructure, enforcement, and logistics modernisation were designed to deliver a cleaner, safer, and more sustainable Lagos.
