The Lagos State Waste Management Authority has trained its staff and other stakeholders in the effective management of construction, demolition and disaster waste.
The agency said it had focused mainly on domestic, commercial, industrial and public waste but that as the population of the state increased, more waste would be generated, hence the need to widen the scope of its management.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello, at a one-day workshop on capacity building, said the state would continue to blaze a trail in innovative approaches to management of waste in line with the determination and commitment to ensure a cleaner and healthier environment.
He said the management of construction, demolition and disaster waste had evolved over the years with introduction of various strategies as well as options for reusing and recycling of the CDDW to prevent it from constituting environmental nuisance.
The Managing Director of LAWMA, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, said the state had limited land but had been producing waste at a significant rate due to the high population.
According to him, about 13,000 metric tonnes of waste are being generated on a daily basis and if the trend continues, all dumps will run out of space in less than five years.
He said there was a need to create value from waste by reusing, reducing and recycling, so the number of waste that would get to the dumps would be reduced.
“The launch of the Blue Box programme by the governor is an attempt to harness opportunities that abound in the waste sector and to promote a healthier environment. The Zero Waste Initiative is a move to engage the populace on environmental issues through community clean-up campaign,” he added.
The guest speaker, Dr Bolaji Wahab of Department of Building, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, said building materials used on sites could account for up to 50 per cent or 60 per cent of contract sum of building projects while an average of 13.6 per cent of these materials could account for waste generated.
He said construction and demolition waste generated could become threat to the environment, if not properly managed.
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