90% of waste generated in Lagos is valuable, says LAWMA

The Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) has revealed that about 90 per cent of the waste generated daily in Lagos still has economic value.

It is a reality that the state is hoping to unlock through better collection systems and a stronger waste-to-wealth approach, the agency said.

Speaking during a media briefing in Lagos recently, LAWMA’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, said the challenge facing the state is not the volume of waste alone, but how it is collected, sorted, and managed.

According to him, Lagos currently generates between 13,000 and 15,000 tonnes of waste every day across its four million households. However, only a fraction of this waste is properly collected.

He explained that the state’s 450 Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators are able to evacuate only 4,000 to 5,000 tonnes daily, leaving a large portion unaccounted for.

As a result, uncollected waste often ends up in drains, canals, lagoons, and wetlands, worsening flooding risks and environmental degradation.

Gbadegesin stressed that most of what residents throw away is not useless.

According to LAWMA, recyclable materials such as plastics, metals, organic waste, and packaging make up the bulk of Lagos waste streams, meaning they can be recovered, reused, or converted into new products if properly handled.

Meanwhile, with Lagos having limited space for new landfill sites due to its coastal and aquatic nature, the agency says treating waste as a resource is no longer optional.

Gbadegesin said: “We are moving from a linear waste management system to a proper waste management system that is environmentally friendly and sustainable, in a way that waste is now seen as a resource.

“The quantum and the quantity of waste that will end up in the landfills will be to the barest minimum

“The biggest issue right now in waste management is the infrastructure.

“When I talk of infrastructure, I am talking about the equipment and facilities that we will use to collect, transport, treat and dispose of the 13,000 tonnes of waste generated daily in the state.”

LAWMA has therefore urged Lagosians to stop seeing waste as a nuisance and start seeing it as an opportunity.