10th August, 2011
Mr. Adegboyega Adepitan, President, Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAM), on Tuesday promised an improvement in the clearing and evacuation of refuse in Lagos metropolis.
Adepitan gave the promise in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
He said that with new compactors from the state government complementing the old ones, more refuse would be removed from the streets at reduced cost.
He explained that with the new trucks, work would be faster and easier as the compactors could work at twice the speed of the old one.
“The new compactors will do the work of two old compactors and there will be no issue of breakdown and the cost of maintenance will be much less.
“The cost of repairing an old truck is between N200,000 and N300,000 monthly; but with the new trucks, maintenance cost will be minimal, and we can work daily,†he said.
Adepiitan said one of the challenges previously faced by operators was the high cost of repair because of bad roads and overuse of the trucks.
The AWAM President gave the assurance that with more PSP operators having more than one compactor, the 350 wards in Lagos would be effectively covered.
He also said PSP operators with more than one compactor will be able to have a wider and faster coverage of all the 350 wards in the state without any delay.
“There will definitely be a change. The people will begin to see the change in a month or two as refuse would leave the streets faster than before,†he said.
Amupitan appealed to residents to pay their PSP bills promptly and report to the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) any PSP operator that refused to do his job.