Lagos officials seek patience as waste collection delays persist

The wife of Lagos State Governor, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, has appealed to residents to remain patient as the government works to resolve delays in waste collection across the state. She made the appeal on Saturday during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise in Mafoluku, in the Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area, after residents complained that Private Sector Participation operators were not collecting refuse regularly. A resident, Adebayo Agbalara, asked Sanwo-Olu to intervene with the operators.

In response, she said residents had raised concerns about increased collection charges, while operators were facing delays at dumpsites. Sanwo-Olu said trucks could wait two or three days before being able to discharge waste because of the long turnaround time at the dumpsites. She said the state government was working on another strategy for waste disposal and management.

She described the disruption as a “teething problem” and said it would be resolved over time. A waste truck was operating in Mafoluku during the exercise, she added, although the evacuation was proceeding more slowly than residents wanted. Sanwo-Olu also urged residents to separate waste at the point of disposal, saying recyclable materials were often mixed with other refuse.

She commended people in the area for bagging their waste rather than placing it beside drainage channels. Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu, the governor’s special adviser on environment, said participation in the monthly exercise had increased. He said residents were increasingly cleaning their homes and streets voluntarily, while urging them to stop indiscriminate dumping and separate plastics, paper and other recyclable materials.