The Lagos Waste Management Authority, LAWMA has intensified its crackdown on indiscriminate waste dumping across the state, strengthening enforcement operations and community-led monitoring to curb growing environmental violations.
LAWMA’s Managing Director/CEO, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, said the renewed push comes as the agency tackles persistent black spots and waste-management lapses in some communities, warning that illegal dumping poses serious public-health and flooding risks.
He noted that Lagos’ coastal terrain makes strict enforcement essential, stressing that a single bag of refuse dumped into drainage channels “blocks culverts, worsens flooding, contaminates water, and sends plastic debris into canals and the lagoon.”
Gbadegesin said LAWMA has now shifted from periodic crackdowns to an intelligence-driven model that integrates surveillance, community reporting, and swift prosecution. Recalcitrant offenders are being arrested and prosecuted to deter widespread non-compliance, he added.
The agency also intensified state-wide operations in collaboration with PSP operators, assuring that government support will help them recapitalise and deliver more reliable services.
In Somolu LCDA, LAWMA recently cleared a longstanding black spot in partnership with Somolu LCDA, Bariga LCDA, and the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), with offenders, including commercial tricycle operators, already apprehended.
The site is now under night and early-morning patrols to prevent a resurgence.
Local council chairmen in Somolu and Bariga have pledged continuous advocacy and strict enforcement in line with the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources’ directive for LGAs and LCDAs to take full ownership of waste management.
To boost public education, LAWMA is expanding its radio programmes and social-media outreach on recycling, PSP services, and penalties for environmental offences.
Gbadegesin urged residents to acquire covered bins, patronise their assigned PSP operators, shun cart pushers, and report suspicious waste movements. Community support, he said, is essential to sustaining a clean and flood-resilient Lagos.
Residents can reach LAWMA via 080000LAWMA (08000052962), 07080601020, 617, or www.lawma.gov.ng.