• Fri. Feb 14th, 2025

LASG Plans To Introduce Smart Bins To Combat Indiscriminate Waste Disposal

ByHybridNewsNg

Jul 29, 2024


As the Lagos State Government intensifies its monthly sanitation awareness programme, plans to introduce smart waste bins for every tenement in the state were revealed by the Special Adviser on Environment, Mr. Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu. This announcement was made during the ongoing weekly sanitation awareness and cleaning exercise held at Ajeromi Local Government.

Mr. Akodu emphasized that indiscriminate waste disposal is a major contributor to the prevalence of communicable diseases. Accompanied by the Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services, Mr. Gaji Omobolaji, and the Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services, Engr. Mahamood Adegbite, Akodu highlighted the need for a collective effort between the government and citizens to achieve a cleaner environment.

The proposed Smart Bins are designed to monitor the activities of PSP (Private Sector Participation) operators and track the refuse disposal rate of Lagosians. Mr. Akodu appealed to residents and market leaders to prioritize maintaining a clean environment.

“It is unfortunate that Lagos State was one of the states affected by a Cholera outbreak, which is a result of persistent unsanitary habits among some residents,” Akodu noted. The weekly exercise aims to encourage citizens to adopt better sanitary practices and to change their mindset towards cleanliness.

“We want to work more with the people and raise the bar on good sanitary practices; we are ramping up our advocacy and sensitization to achieve a positive change and ideology among the people,” he said.

Mr. Akodu expressed concern about the widespread issue of refuse littering roads, medians, markets, and motor parks. He noted that during the exercise, the team found the roadside and road medians from Marine Beach and Mobil Road towards the Ajegunle boundary to Alayabiagba market filled with heaps of waste, including the distressing discovery of a baby’s corpse.

He recalled that Alayabiagba market was closed last year due to the unsanitary habits of traders and warned that the market is gradually deviating from the standards set by the government after its reopening. Reports from the weekly Community Sanitation Exercise and Advocacy campaign indicate a strong public demand for the return of the Monthly Environmental Sanitation Exercise across the state.

“We must stop littering our markets and motor parks with waste, bag our waste in our respective markets and homes, and ensure we patronize PSP operators,” he emphasized, calling for an end to illegal dumpsites on road medians, kerbs, open spaces, and road setbacks.

The Managing Director of LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, explained that the State Government would soon roll out Smart Bins with notification systems. These bins will have chips that notify LAWMA when PSP operators fail to pick up waste on time.

Dr. Gbadegesin stressed that maintaining a safe, clean, and sustainable environment is a collective responsibility and urged all residents to support government efforts by adopting good sanitation practices.

Community leaders, including the Baale, Babaloja of Ajeromi Ifelodun, and the CDC Chairman, appealed to the State Government to reconsider reintroducing the monthly sanitation exercise. They highlighted the effectiveness of waste police in preventing littering in the past and called for more LAWMA policemen in neighborhoods.

The Special Adviser was accompanied by the Managing Director of LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin; General Manager of LASPARK, Mrs. Toun Popoola; KAI Marshal, Major Olatunbosun Cole (Rtd); General Manager of LASWMO, Engr. Adefemi Afolabi, and other directors from the ministry. The team visited Mobil Road, Apapa, Ajeromi, Ajegunle boundary, and Alayabiagba market during the exercise.

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