By Olasunkanmi Akoni

The Lagos State Goverment has commenced the process of decommissioning the popular Olusosun dump site, Ojota and two others in Epe and Badagry for the purpose of building a waste-to-energy plant at the sites.

Just as it unveiled plans to radically improve waste management system in the state as part of efforts to mitigate environmental hazards.

Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, unveiled this at a Waste to Energy Summit themed, “Driving Environmental Sustainability ” on Thursday, in Lagos.

The event, organised by Rack Centre in partnership with the Nationaal Youth Setvice Corps, NYSC, Community Development Service, CDS, at Ikeja, brought together key stakeholders to discuss sustainable solutions to waste management challenges.

In his keynote address, Wahab, who was represented by the Managing Director, Lagos Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, stressed the need for proper dumpsite management to mitigate environmental hazards.

“When Olusosun was established, it was actually on the outskirts, but development caught up with it.

“There’s a lot of pressure on solid waste management, which is why we are working on reducing the amount of waste dumped on the Olusosun landfill through recycling initiatives,” Wahab explained.

He further outlined LAWMA’s strategic plans to transform waste management in the state, by focusing more on recycling, introducing various initiatives such as development of compost and bio-gas plants, to reduce the volume of waste going to landfills.

“We are working on developing composting and biogas plants on the site. The future state is that we are going to decommission the Olusosun landfill; we are already in the process.

“Decommissioning the dumpsite is necessary to address long-term environmental and health impacts. In doing this, we are going to comply with international best practices,”
Wahab stressed.

He also announced plans to establish waste-to-energy plants across the state, “Waste-to-energy plants will be established at the Epe dumpsite.

“The plan is to have three waste-to-energy plants in the state at Badagry, Epe, and Olusosun. We are exploring other alternatives to be used as landfills since we are working on shutting down the Olusosun landfill.”

Dolapo Olaoluwa, the convener of the summit and a serving corps member, said he envisioned a gathering of key stakeholders to discuss solutions to the challenges posed by the Olusosun dumpsite and other waste management issues, as a way of contributing meaningfully to the community where he was serving.

Mr. Adetayo Odusole, Head Sustainability Coordination, Rack Centre, expressed their enthusiasm for sponsoring the event, noting that Rack Centre was pleased to support the initiative as it aligned with their goals of achieving a sustainable environment in the state, emphasising that achieving this required a collective effort.

Other speakers at the summit included: Ezekiel Egboye, Founding Executive and Chief Operating Officer, Rack Centre; Jide Onakoya, Chief Operating Officer, Elektron; Professor Emmanuel O. Ogolo, Professor of Atmospheric Physics (represented); Dr. Victor Abimbola Onifade, senior lecturer of Urban and Regional Planning; Olaide Ayodele-Taiwo; Assistant Chief Scientific Officer at the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA); and Yetunde Baderinwa, NYSC State Coordinator, Lagos State.

High point of the event was a panel discussion, where the stakeholders and experts discussed sustainable solutions to waste management challenges in the state.