The new waste management agent in Lagos, Visionscape Sanitation Solutions is aggressively pushing to free the state of filth by clearing the mounting heaps of garbage that have made the state’s environment not only unhealthy, but also unsafe and unsightly.
To achieve this, the company, which is a global environmental utility firm, providing turnkey solutions in areas of sanitation, energy and wastewater treatment, has invested over $50 million in equipment procurement and received, recently, a consignment of brand new 100 waste management vehicles equipped with cutting-edge technology.
During a media tour of the new Visionscape Tapa Facility on Lagos Island, Abiodun Bamgboye, the Permanent Secretary at the state’s ministry of the environment, explained that the new vehicles being acquired and the new personnel being engaged were part of government’s resolve to change the process of managing waste in Lagos.
“Before now, we have been busy creating awareness about government’s policy on environment and what it wants to do; we have also been highlighting the challenges. But we are not relenting in executing the policy; facilities are now coming in and personnel are being engaged”, he said, adding that the whole effort is aimed to ensure healthy and secure life for the residents of the state.
Thomas Forgacs , the chief operation officer at Visionscape, informed that the consignment consisted of a series of waste trucks, from various rear end loaders to operational vehicles. The company is set to begin operations across the state to roll out the next phase of their contract for the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI).
“The CLI was established to address, enforce and regulate the challenges in the solid waste management systems in the state. The initiative is focused on improving the environment to make it cleaner, safer and healthier for all residents, as well as improving operational efficiency”, he explained.
“The addition to the waste management fleet is in line with our commitment to providing integrated waste management services, using state-of-the-art equipment and innovative solutions to help transform megacities,” Forgacs continued.
Apart from the new vehicles, the company has also procured a large number of galvanized bins with plans to get additional 20,000 in the next two months. About 3,000 of such bins will be deployed this week along with 1million black bags that will be deployed this week.
“As a pioneer in environmental solutions, Visionscape trucks are fully equipped and embedded with cutting-edge features, including a Global Positioning System (GPS), radio-frequency identification (RFID), and automotive Controller Area Network (CAN bus) system.
“These innovative features are designed to meet the operational needs facing waste management across the state. Using these systems, Visionscape will be able to thoroughly monitor and track the states waste collection process, ensuring that the trucks are seamlessly deployed for effective waste collection, and all communities within Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) and Local Government Areas (LGAs) are covered efficiently”, he assured.
The company had, in the last six months, surveyed all of Lagos and collated vital data to make its operations highly effective. “We therefore, understand population density of the communities and areas that will be serviced, even up to the number of streets and households across the state. This preliminary assessment has aided us to know the amount of waste that will be generated in any particular location”, Forgacs stated.
Visionscape currently holds the residential waste collection contract for the State, and the management of three operating waste transfer loading stations, which are currently being renovated, under LAWMA. It has also begun construction of West Arica’s first engineered landfill in Epe. To-date, the company has successfully cleared over 1,000 litter black spots and illegal dumpsites across Lagos, as part of their pre-operational phase.
CHUKA UROKO
