Lagos residents lament irregular waste collection

Refuse heap

Residents of Lagos have expressed concern over what they described as the increasingly irregular services provided by Private Sector Participant waste operators in the state, warning that indiscriminate dumping of refuse is heightening environmental and public health risks.

The residents spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Lagos.

NAN observed that parts of Ikorodu, Ayobo, Alagbado, Shasha, Ikotun, Akesan, Afariogun Street, Mafoluku, Airport Road, and LASU-Iba Road have suffered long gaps in waste evacuation.

Many households have resorted to burning refuse or dumping it in gutters, particularly during rainfall.

In Ikorodu, Miss Adekoya Toyosi, a businesswoman, said PSP operators no longer maintain predictable schedules.

“Collection sometimes drops from three times a month to once a month. If the waste is much and the PSP doesn’t come around, we use the gutter when it rains, and sometimes we burn it when it’s sunny,” she said, adding that residents pay between ₦500 and ₦700 depending on waste volume.

Mr Timilehin Ogunnariwo, also an Ikorodu resident and human resource practitioner, noted that PSP trucks often arrive already full, leaving inner streets unattended. Punch