Within the past year, 343 building sites around the state have received violation notifications from the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA).
During a ministerial press briefing held in Alausa, Ikeja, to commemorate the first year of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s second term, Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, revealed this information.
He said that because they disregarded the LAWMA-supervised building waste regulating procedure, they received notices from the authorities.
Wahab continued by saying that at that time, 10 uncooperative sites had enforcement actions taken, and 354 new introduction notices were sent to building companies.
As per his statement, “LAWMA has issued at least 343 violation notices to construction companies across the state in the past year for their failure to adhere to the rules and regulations controlling construction waste management.” The LAWMA Construction Demolition and Disaster rubbish Department is in charge of collaborating with construction companies to ensure the efficient evacuation of the rubbish that they produce. However, some of them are breaking the regulations, which is why the notifications are sent.
The agency discovered 103 black areas throughout the state, he continued, and LAWMA at different points mobilised its operations men to clean them.
He stated, “It is a sad commentary that some residents still refuse to patronise assigned PSP operators, preferring to dump waste in canals, on road medians, and other illegal points, despite constant public awareness, warnings, and actual enforcements.” This behaviour needs to end.
The commissioner also revealed that an agreement on waste treatment solutions had been inked by LAWMA, the state government, and the Jospong Group through the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources.
He pointed out that finding current landfill locations was required by the Memorandum of Understanding in order to properly re-engineer solid waste management systems and create jobs.
Speaking about LAWMA’s operations over the past year, he hinted that the organisation had collaborated with the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to find sites for the construction of plastic recycling facilities. He added that the goal of this effort was to create jobs and remove plastic products from the environment in large quantities.
He added that in order to help in the collection of debris from both onshore and offshore, the Marine Unit of LAWMA has acquired five more rafters in the previous year.
He mentioned that LAWMA has year-round stakeholder involvement on the state’s markets, significantly enhancing, among other things, hygienic practices, trash containerisation, and evacuation.
Wahab reminded locals who engage in environmental vandalism that, during the period under review, LAWMA had arrested and prosecuted approximately 1,100 defaulters, the majority of whom had received fines or community service orders.