Korede Abdullah 
LAWMA MD, Muyiwa Gbadegesin
LAGOS, Nigeria – The Lagos State Government says it will phase out ageing landfills and replace them with modern waste-to-energy plants and material recovery facilities as part of a long-term strategy to transform waste management across the state.
The Lagos waste-to-energy plants initiative is designed to move the state from a traditional waste disposal system to a circular economy that promotes recycling, energy recovery and sustainable waste management.
Managing Director of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Muyiwa Gbadegesin, announced the plan on Tuesday during the agency’s mid-year media briefing in Ijora-Olopa.
Gbadegesin says several existing landfill sites are approaching the end of their operational lifespan because of limited disposal capacity and recurring flooding.
“The capacity of the dump site itself to receive waste is limited now because it’s approaching the end of life. It can properly be called an expired landfill,” he says.
He says LAWMA is developing transfer loading stations, material recovery facilities in Ikorodu and Badagry, as well as a waste-to-energy plant in Badagry.
According to him, the projects are expected to be completed within the next three to five years.
Gbadegesin also says the authority is strengthening waste collection services through the acquisition of additional waste collection trucks expected before the end of the year.
He explains that the long-term strategy is aimed at creating a circular waste management system where waste is sorted, recycled and converted into valuable resources.
“The goal of our policy direction now is to take Lagos from a linear system of waste management to a circular system,” he says.
The proposed model will integrate waste sorting, material recovery facilities, transfer stations, waste-to-energy technology and biogas production.
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Oluwatobi Adu 
Abah Felicity