Improvement in environmental health in Lagos State is underway as the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI), driven by Visionscape Sanitation Solutions, commences extensive waste collection with the Agege area of the state as take off point.
Lagos residents have raised concerns over mounting refuse dumps in many parts of the state, which, they fear, could lead to an outbreak of epidemic that could put their health and lives at risk. The residents are also worried that they are yet to see clearly defined process on how the heaps of refuse seen at every turn in the state are to be cleared.
But Visionscape has assured that all those heaps would soon disappear given their commitment to ridding the state of filth for which they have sunk over $50 million into equipment procurement.
Recently, the company opened its ultra-modern Tapa Transfer Loading Station (TLS). The new facility located in Lagos Island will serve as one of many hubs strategically located throughout the state that will enable it temporarily deposit-collected waste from within city limits to be transported in bulk to the landfills after processing.
The Tapa TLS is the first completed facility as the company is currently renovating other stations in Mushin, Agege and Oshodi as part of its mandate to provide integrated waste management solutions for the treatment of municipal solid waste and wastewater under the CLI.
“Transfer Loading Stations are the unsung heroes in the waste management supply-chain; they’re fundamental in driving efficiency into waste collection and transportation services. The TLS will serve as the middleman between waste collection vehicles and the final disposal facilities,” stated Thomas Forgacs, Visionscape’s chief operating officer.
During a media tour of the facility recently, the CLI assured Lagos residents of timely collection and disposal of the tonnes of domestic solid waste generated daily in the state. The transfer stations will receive approximately 6,700 tons of waste a day. The facility features a central tipping bay, a waste reception bay, administrative buildings and waste processing end.
“The Cleaner Lagos Initiative is creating an enabling environment. Before now, there was only a focus on disposal and no system to support the waste beyond collection. The collection is the beginning of the cycle, and the CLI is providing a world class sanitation structure that includes mechanized sweeping by trained community sanitation workers, transfer loading stations, sorting and recycling, innovative waste bins, regular waste collection and more.
We are pleased to inform you that the work which has been going on over the past 15 months is rolling out now,” said SWM Solutions executive director, Tolagbe Martins.
Abiodun Bamgboye, permanent secretary, Ministry of the Environment, added, “Visionscape has proven its commitment to developing and implementing advanced processes in solid waste and wastewater management operations by disrupting the market with an innovative approach. Their state-of-the-art TLS’s will be a game changer in our sector.”
The CLI, as government initiative, was established to address, enforce and regulate the challenges in the solid waste management systems within Lagos State. The initiative focuses on the environmental remediation and fulfilling the state’s commitment to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
