Bolaji Idowu
The Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has terminated the contracts of 22 Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators for persistent failure to meet waste collection and disposal standards across the state.
The affected operators, who are private firms engaged by LAWMA to handle waste collection and transportation in assigned zones, were dismissed for continuous underperformance.
LAWMA’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, disclosed this during a media parley held on Wednesday in Lagos.
Gbadegesin said the firms’ operational slots had been withdrawn and reassigned to more competent companies due to their inability to deliver effective waste collection services.
“We have axed about 22 PSP operators this year and replaced them with others because of failure in effective waste collection. LAWMA has a framework to supervise the PSP operators in the state.
“In fact, we have personnel who monitor their activities and report to us on those who are performing and those who are not. This arrangement helps us track their performance across the state,” he said.
He reaffirmed LAWMA’s commitment to maintaining a cleaner Lagos and warned residents against indiscriminate dumping of refuse on roads and in drainage channels.
“Anyone caught disposing of waste in drainage channels will face the full wrath of the law,” he said.
On efforts to strengthen waste management infrastructure, the LAWMA boss announced plans to acquire 500 mobile tricycle compactors in 2026 to tackle the increasing waste burden.
According to him, the compactors—already deployed in some hard-to-reach areas such as Ibeju-Lekki—will be expanded to other parts of the state.
“Lagos requires a minimum of 2,000 tricycle compactors to effectively address the growing waste challenge driven by population pressure and infrastructure gaps,” Gbadegesin said.
He noted that Lagos’ four million households generate between 13,000 and 15,000 tonnes of waste daily, while about 450 PSP operators currently collect refuse weekly. However, he said the existing operators have the capacity to evacuate only 4,000 to 5,000 tonnes of waste daily.
“The biggest issue in waste management right now is infrastructure. When I talk about infrastructure, I mean the equipment and facilities used to collect, transport, treat and dispose of the 13,000 tonnes of waste generated daily in the state.
“The process begins with containerisation of household, business and industrial waste, but we do not have enough bins. At present, we have about 80,000 smart bins being rolled out, but this is still inadequate for a state of four million households,” he said.
Reports had it that in November, Lagos residents lamented the rising refuse dumps across the state, expressing fears of possible disease outbreaks if the waste was not promptly evacuated.