LAWMA urges residents to embrace proper waste management

The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has urged residents to embrace proper waste management to ensure a clean and healthy environment during and after the Eid Kabir celebration.

The Managing Director of LAWMA, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, made the call in a statement in Lagos.

Gbadegesin assured residents that extensive provisions had been made to handle the anticipated increase in waste generation throughout the Sallah period.

He noted that waste management services would be provided across all designated routes, ensuring seamless evacuation of refuse in every part of the city.

“Eid-el-Kabir is a season of joy, gratitude, and communal harmony. While residents celebrate with their families and loved ones, we must all remain mindful of our civic duties, especially in relation to the environment.

“Proper handling and disposal of animal waste, food remnants, and packaging materials are non-negotiable if we are to maintain the standards of hygiene we all desire,” Gbadegesin said.

He said LAWMA officials and enforcement teams would be monitoring field operations and waste disposal activities around the metropolis to ensure compliance with best practices during and after the festivities.

Gbadegesin appealed to residents to avoid indiscriminate dumping of refuse on the road medians, drainage channels, and open spaces, stressing that such actions compromise public health and would attract penalties.

He urged butchers and livestock dealers to make use of approved slaughter facilities across the state to minimise contamination and maintain sanitary standards in line with public health regulations.

While wishing the Muslim faithful a peaceful and joyful celebration, Gbadegesin reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to maintaining environmental cleanliness, not just during festive periods but throughout the year.

He appealed to Lagos residents to support the authority’s efforts by bagging their waste properly, containerising and ensuring timely evacuation through assigned PSP operators.

In a related development, LAWMA has joined its counterparts across the globe to commemorate the 2025 World Environment Day, marked every June 5.

“This year’s theme, “Putting an End to Plastic Pollution,” places emphasis on the urgent need to save the environment from the dangers of plastic pollution,” Gbadegesin said.

He noted that the theme resonated deeply with the agency’s ongoing mission to transform Lagos into a cleaner and healthier city, by tackling the menace of plastic pollution.

Gbadegesin added that environmental restoration was not a one-time event but a sustained process with individual choices and community-based action.

He said LAWMA had commenced a series of advocacy and clean-up initiatives in collaboration with environment stakeholders, schools, and community-based organisations.

He explained that the advocacy was aimed at encouraging environmental ownership at the grassroots level.

Gbadegesin called on market associations, religious leaders, and neighborhood groups, to help educate their members on how small daily actions, such as clearing gutters, separating recyclables, or discouraging street dumping, could lead to meaningful and positive long-term ecological impact.

He noted that the World Environment Day 2025 offered an opportunity for every Lagos resident to recommit to building a healthier and more sustainable future.

He urged all stakeholders to reflect on the consequences of environmental neglect and join hands with government agencies to restore and protect the ecosystem that sustains lives and livelihoods in the state.