Lagos to procure 100 new CNG Compactor Trucks in 2025 – LAWMA MD

…Embarks on 10-Year Plan to Replace Ageing Waste Fleet

The Lagos State Government has unveiled a 10-year development plan that will see the procurement of 100 new CNG-powered compactor trucks next year, as part of its drive to sustain a cleaner and more efficient waste management system.

The Managing Director of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, disclosed this on Wednesday during a media parley in Alausa, Ikeja.

He added that, after the initial 100 trucks, the state intends to introduce between 200 and 250 new compactor trucks every year.

According to him: “To keep Lagos clean. We still need compactor trucks. Altogether, we need about 2,000 trucks-1,000 for day to day fleet and 1,000 for back up.”

He explained that the long-term investment would be backed by a statewide automated billing system.

“This is a long-term investment package that would be supported by a state wide billing system. We will undertake Enumeration of every household and billing by the state government. Through automation, you will now get a bill from the state government. When you pay and once we confirm that the PSP operators has done the job. We pay them,” he said.

Gbadegesin noted that the overarching goal is to entrench transparency and accountability in waste management operations.

“We believe that Lagos residents are ready to pay for waste collection if they will get good service and that is what we will ensure going forward,” he stated.

The LAWMA boss also revealed that the agency had terminated the contracts of about 22 PSP waste operators this year for underperformance, replacing them with new operators ready to meet service standards.

He further announced the state’s plan to acquire 500 mobile compactor tricycles by mid-next year, to ease wage pressures and improve access to communities with narrow or inaccessible roads.

He explained that the pilot scheme in Ibeju-Lekki had already proved successful.

In his words: “Currently we are running this system in Ibeju Lekki. The chairman of Ibeju Lekki Sesan Olowa came to us about a year ago that the PSP operators in the area are not going into the communities and that he wants to introduce tricycle compactors.

“Around the same time, we got information about an entrepreneur who just brought in tricycle compactors. So we adviced that both parties can collaborate and today they have been running that system so well and the people have embraced it in Ibeju-Lekki.”

He added that the model will now be scaled across Lagos.

“We have now decided we can replicate this in other parts of Lagos. We had a meeting with all Local Governments recently where they all pledged to support the new system.”

Gbadegesin said the tricycle system could also integrate informal waste collectors.

“The PSP operators can buy some, engage cart pushers and put them on salary. We can now have a more efficient system for Lagos,” he said.

Reaffirming LAWMA’s commitment to a cleaner environment, he urged residents to desist from dumping refuse on roads or in canals, warning that offenders would face sanctions under state sanitation laws.

He also encouraged widespread adoption of waste sorting.

“Ninety percent of what you throw away has value. We must start sorting that waste, collecting it and giving it to those who are in need of it. Waste to wealth is the key to the survival of Lagos. When you go to Olusosun and Solous 3, you will see it,” he said.

Gbadegesin reiterated the state’s commitment to phasing out landfill sites.

“In Lagos we must move to a point where we ban landfill sites and that is what we are moving towards as a state government. We have commenced the process of decommissioning Olusosun and Soluos 3 within the next 18 months. We have already gone into two months out of that 18 months. Just give us an allowance for plus or minus. We are committed to decommissioning them,” he added.