18 July 2013, Lagos – The Lagos State Government has said its waste-to-energy project had started generating electricity, which it said was currently being run at a demonstration centre in Ikosi market, Ketu area of the state.
The state government also said the bigger waste-to-energy project located at Olusosun land-filled site was being currently capped to trap methane, which it also said would put an end to the offensive odour in the area.
The Managing Director of the Lagos Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, Mr. Ola Oresanya, disclosed this to THISDAY in an interactive session, saying the bigger waste-to-energy project was already 50 per cent completed.
At the session, Oresanya explained that the state “has started generating electricity from wastes. At Ikosi market, we already have a demonstration centre where wastes from the market are processed to generate electricity.
“The bigger ones are located at Olusosun landfill site. Olusosun is now being properly capped to trap the methane and this means the offensive odour from the site will be history once this stage is completed.
“The infrastructure components are being installed at present and soon, the turbines will arrive, but we cannot set a timeline from the completion yet.”
The LAWMA boss added that the waste management sector had been a blessing to the state and its residents at large, noting that more 524,000 people have been engaged directly and indirectly in the business of waste management.
According to him, for now, those who are on the payroll of LAWMA are about 24,000. Those who benefit directly or indirectly from waste management are indeed huge. “If we use the estimate of one person to 15 beneficiaries, we would be talking of about 500,000 people.”
The managing director therefore explained that the statistics definitely “gives us a picture of the size of that economy. It is a huge economy and if well managed, it can be a tool for social development and reform.”
He explained the state was unrelenting in its effort to build 20 transfer-loading stations, out of which he said two had been completed; one currently under construction with a plan to start constructing another one in Alimosho.
He added that the state government no longer wanted refuse dump sites within the metropolis, noting that all refuse collected “will be taken to the stations. Alimosho will definitely have a loading station. The volume of refuse generated on Lagos Island alone is more than the refuse from almost five or six states in the country at a time. The problem of waste management in Alimosho is largely attributed to the attitude of people, and not that the refuse generated cannot be handled.”
On the safety of the highway managers, Oresanya lamented the disturbing case of hit-and-run accidents, though acknowledged the incidents had reduced in the last one year due to different measures adopted.
– Gboyega Akinsanmi, This Day.