The Lagos State government is decommissioning the landfills and refuse dumpsites located along LASU-Isheri Road in Igando, with plans to convert them to a waste-to-wealth energy-generating plant.
The decommissioning of the dumpsite is also to prevent a potential exposure to epidemic outbreak among the residents of the area.
Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, and his counterpart in the ministry of environment and water resources, Tunji Bello, in a joint statement on Tuesday, said both ministries were aware of the dumpsites and the resultant menace they were causing to the environment.
Abayomi said the proximity of the dumpsites to the Alimosho General Hospital where medical care is being provided left much to be desired.
“Situating a waste yard right beside a general hospital or in the proximity of residential community, is totally unacceptable, and we acknowledge the health and environmental dangers this dumpsite constitutes to the neighbourhood and particularly the Alimosho General hospital”, said Abayomi.
He further explained that the dumpsites which were on the outskirts of the metropolis until population expansion, commercial and residential buildings caught up with them had earlier been shut down about five years ago before they were reopened by those engaged to manage the waste in the last four years before the present administration.
“We are aware that these dumpsites have caused residents of the area so much discomfort and agony over the years. These, coupled with the attendant exposure to environmental hazards which is inimical to attainment of good health, are the reasons why we are taking the bull by the horn to provide lasting solution to this ugly menace by decommissioning these sites and restoring serenity in the environment”, Abayomi said.
Bello, while highlighting plans aimed at finding a lasting solution to the dumpsites and landfills in the axis, disclosed that the ministry of the environment and water resources had mandated the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) to begin the process of decommissioning of Solous 3 dumpsite. This is the dumpsite close to the Alimosho General Hospital, starting with rehabilitation and improved management of the dumpsite as a critical first step to eventual decommissioning in two to three years.
“The rehabilitation will involve leveling of the refuse, slope stabilisation, soil covering, grading as well as rolling and landscaping. As part of the rehabilitation, we will also rebuild the drainage and road network within and outside the site. These measures will help greatly to control pollution, eliminate rodents’ breeding grounds, prevent landfill gas emission and widen capacity for landfill gas capturing”, Bello explained.
