Stakeholders Tackle Waste Management Challenges In Lagos

Stakeholders have converged on Lagos to tackle the various environmental challenges confronting the state, especially managing the waste generated by over 22 million residents.

They said the state can profit from these challenges through sustainable waste management initiatives.

The stakeholders who spoke at the 2026 quarterly forum of the Property and Environment Writers Association of Nigeria (PEWAN), with the theme, ‘Managing the waste of 22 million Lagosians from linear disposal to circular economy,  Roles of PSP operators and other waste managers,’ called for a transition from a linear disposal model to a circular economy.

In his keynote address in the forum supported by the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAMN) and his agency, the managing director, chief executive officer of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, said waste management in Lagos must be seen beyond routine evacuation, describing it as a critical test of governance in one of Africa’s largest megacities.

He pointed out that the implications of ineffective waste management extend far beyond sanitation, cutting across public health, urban planning, flooding, real estate value, and investor confidence, adding that failure in waste management systems inevitably triggers wider urban disorder.

“For a long time, cities operated a linear model where waste is generated, collected, and dumped. That approach is no longer sustainable for a city of Lagos’ size, density, and ecological vulnerability,” he said.

Gbadegesin explained that the emerging focus must be on a circular system in which waste is treated as a resource stream to be reduced, sorted, processed, and reintegrated into productive use, rather than simply disposed of.

In his address, the President of the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria, Dr Olugbenga Adebola, said his association needs an enabling environment for its members to deliver efficient and effective waste management in the state.

According to him, effective and efficient waste management requires the commitment and collaboration of government and Private Sector Participants (PSPs) operators, stressing the need for both parties to work together to chart a course for addressing the challenges in the waste management value chain.

Adebola said political leaders had underrated waste management and failed to recognise it as a problem, urging the state and local governments to take the environment seriously.

He advocated that environmental accountability be enshrined in Nigeria’s constitution, making waste management the responsibility of local governments.

Earlier, the chairman of PEWAN, Mrs Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie, said the forum was convened as part of the association’s advocacy efforts to address persistent waste management challenges in Lagos.

She commended the Lagos State government and LAWMA for ongoing reforms, including the implementation of a 10-year technology-driven waste management plan under the THEMES+ agenda, the transition to Material Recovery Facilities, and the upgrade of Transfer Loading Stations at Olusosun and Solous.