Sort your wastes for recycling – Lagos residents urged

The Managing Director of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, has urged residents of the state to imbibe the culture of waste sorting at source by dropping all recyclable items in one bag and other waste items in another. Speaking at Orile bus stop yesterday in mainland Lagos during a road show […]

The Managing Director of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, has urged residents of the state to imbibe the culture of waste sorting at source by dropping all recyclable items in one bag and other waste items in another.

Speaking at Orile bus stop yesterday in mainland Lagos during a road show organised by LAWMA to create awareness and distribute waste bags following the recently-launched Blue Box Programme of the state government, Gbadegesin said the Authority embarked on the massive sensitisation programme to draw the attention of residents in the area to the need for proper sanitation and cleaner surroundings.

“A clean environment is the beginning of good health for all Lagosians. If you don’t have a clean environment, you cannot enjoy good health. You were keeping one waste bag before, but now you will be keeping two bags, one for your recyclable materials like plastic bottles, cans and water sachets and the other for general waste. That is why we are distributing the bags to you, for the Blue Box programme which the governor launched last week,” he said.

Gbadegesin appealed to residents to stop the idea of using refuse to reclaim land, saying it was an unwholesome and harmful practice.

Stressing the resolve that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s Executive Order on Sanitation would be enforced, the LAWMA boss disclosed that the agency had commenced massive clean-up exercises along the Orile-Badagry expressway to ensure that the stretch was rid of black spots and all forms of environmental nuisance.

A Nigerian actor and LAWMA ambassador, Mr Funsho Adeolu, said he joined the campaign to promote environmental sustainability in the state, urging Lagos residents to support LAWMA’s efforts at restoring

the environment through proper waste management practices like waste sorting for recycling.

Also at the sensitisation exercise was Tony Ohekwuru, a child environmental advocate with Children for Cleaner Lagos, who educated residents on how to dispose of their wastes properly, and the importance of waste segregation for recycling.