Lagos waste: Environmentalist calls for innovative, smart approaches

An environmentalist, Mr Toyin Oshaniwa, on Wednesday said that Lagos State needed innovative, educative and smart approaches to solve its waste management problems.

Oshaniwa said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, while commenting on the increasing heaps of waste in neighbourhoods across the state.

He underscored the need for the Lagos State Government to adopt innovative strategies to address the waste management challenges facing the state.

“With the continuous influx of people into Lagos State, waste generation and management concerns essentially need innovative, educative and smart approaches.

“One significant factor behind the heaps of solid and domestic waste across Lagos environs was the timing and un- managed transition gaps in the waste management system of Lagos State,” he said.

Oshaniwa said that the waste management challenges in the state included the uncoordinated transition from the weekly waste evacuation to a new mode of waste collection.

“The uncoordinated transition from the weekly waste evacuation scheme to the sudden placement of anti-littering bins on Lagos streets was a drawback. That approach should have been introduced at a later stage

“The public information and educational transitional phase was conspicuously lacking.

“There was no prior information and educational programme to inform the residents of Lagos State about the specifics of the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI),’’ he added.