The Lagos State government has announced that it has plans to close the Olusosun landfill sites and Solous 3 dumpsites in the next 18 months.
This is as the state government assured residents that the creation of new dump sites will not pose any health risk to the host communities.
The Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, said this during an inspection tour of the Olusosun landfills at Ojota and Soluos 3 dumpsites at Igando area of old Alimosho on Saturday.
Wahab said: “It’s a routine kind of activity for us and we’ve been having engagements between LOMA, one of our agencies in the environment and the PSP operators.
“The governor had met with them. State Executive Council had also deliberated on the issues and at every point of the discussion, the issue of the state of Olusosun and Solous three had always emerged and it’s appropriate for us to take on-the-spot assessments of these landfills and dump sites because we also open up new sites around Badagry, Ikorodu and Epe.
“We have said we have to decommission Solous three and Olusosun. So that plan is in the works.
“We are out here today for the on-the-spot assessment. I’m talking about decommissioning.
“I can assure you that in 18 months or thereabouts from now, the full decommissioning process will commence. On our way to Olusosun landfills, the first place we went to was the designated place for Zoom Lion.
“That’s our partner for the waste to wealth project and part of the deal is once they start the material recovery facility there, they will start the decommissioning of this place and capping it the way it’s done globally.
“And the same thing will happen to Solous 3, which is why we also have to provide the alternative facilities around Ikorodu and Epe and then Badagry to the west and the east of Lagos.
“So, for 18 months from now, you start seeing that activity in place. But you don’t just decommission, you must provide the alternative for them to take whatever is left from the treated, sorted resource to go and drop.
“We also observed a trend, the roads to both Solous 3 and Olusosun have been in a bad state. There are plans to fix the roads. Olusosun is a rigid pavement; you can see it yourself. However, Solous 3 is not and we all agreed on what to do and how to go about it.
“This rigid pavement, no matter the facility and infrastructure, but the operators also must find a way to understand that you can’t just wilfully park your trucks on the road.
“It should not be that way. Look at it, look at it inside here. It’s clean. Yes, we also used to have an alternative exit route for them. That also must be brought back to the table to find a win-win pending when we fully decommission. So, as they come in to drop, they can exit through another route.
“But for Solos 3, it’s a no-no. We have to put a stop to it immediately.”
On fears that the proposed new dumpsites could create future problems for host communities, Wahab said: “It will not because what we intend to do is we are now moving from a linear waste management system to a proper waste management system that is environmentally friendly and sustainable in a way that waste is now seen as a resource.
“The quantum and the quantity of waste that will end up at the landfills will be to the barest minimum. We are going to recycle some; we are going to turn some into compost fertiliser.
“Then whatever is left, the partner will take its own combustible waste. The others will take theirs to turn into energy. Whatever is left will be so minimal that then we can take it to the landfill.”
