Bad Compactors, Major Problems in Waste Disposal, Says Durosinmi-Etti
The Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti has said that decrepit waste compactors, often relied upon by PSP operators to cart away refuse in the state, have constituted a major hindrance to effective waste disposal in Lagos State.
Mr. Babatunde DurosinmiEtti stated this in Alausa on Thursday during the familiarisation and fact finding visit by the Federal Commissioner for the Lagos State Office of the Public Complaints Commission, Honourable Abimbola AyoYusuf.
The Environment Commissioner said that the lack of adequate roadworthy compactors contributed in no small measure to weakening the capacity of PSP operators to serve their clients efficiently, adding that this was one of the major reasons why the frequency of evacuating waste in different localities in the state had been low.
“As evident from the recertification exercise carried out in Alimosho Local Government Area for example, out of the forty-four compactors presented for the exercise, only seventeen compactors were certified to be in good working conditions” he said.
He decried the situation in which compactors that were not in good condition broke down incessantly on the road and caused traffic congestions as well as unnecessary hardships to road users.
The Commissioner reiterated that one of the criteria for being assigned as an operator was to have at least two functional compactors which must be certified by government to be in good working condition.
“As a result of their poor condition these compactors often find it difficult to navigate the dumpsites and incessantly break down to create bottlenecks and delays at the dumpsites”, he said.
Noting that this unhealthy development was capable of jeopardising efforts of the State Government to achieve a cleaner Lagos, DurosinmiEtti said that government was exploring ways of making available to PSP operators soft loan facilities through the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSTEF) to make it easy for them to increase their fleet of compactors.
He stated that the Lagos State Government was determined to remove all bottlenecks hindering seamless waste collection and disposal operations as it was making concerted effort to achieve minimal turnaround time at the dumpsites by enhancing regulatory measures as LAWMA was being encouraged to start sanctioning dumpsite operators for delays.
Durosinmi-Etti stated that to address attitudinal issues, the State Government had been carrying out regular advocacy with Local Government Officials, Community Development Committees (CDCs) and Community Development Associations (CDAs) as well as PSP operators in the various Local Government Areas of the State.
He added that the aim of interacting with the people at the grassroots was to mutually appreciate government efforts and jointly address peculiar challenges in communities.
Earlier, the Federal Commissioner for Public Complaint Commission, Honorable Abimbola AyoYusuf gave kudos to the Lagos State Government and Ministry of the Environment for their efforts in environmental management, saying that there had never been any public complaint forwarded to the Ministry by the Public Complaints Commission that had not been resolved by the Ministry.
He thereafter pledged to work more with the Ministry to bring enlightenment to Lagosians, particularly on issues of the environment.