LASG TO PARTNER SWEDEN COYS ON WASTE-TO-ENERGY

… Says It Will Continue To Pay Special Attention To Waste Conversion 

The quest to make good use of the high solid waste generated in Lagos State got another boost on Tuesday as the state expressed readiness to partner with some Swedish organisations on how to turn both solid waste and liquid waste into energy across the metropolis. 

Speaking during a meeting held today at Alausa, the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab said the state would continue to pay special attention to waste management, adding that waste is not waste but remains one of the best resources everywhere. 

He said Waste to Energy is a project that the State Government is willing to embark on to move the narrative forward progressively and productively.

“Our resolve from the beginning of this tenure is that whatever we have to engage in to manage and deploy our solid and liquid waste as a resource is a priority for this government as it will save Lagos and other neighbouring states”, he said.

The Commissioner stated that the Ministry, which is a public-facing Ministry, has resolved to embrace any project that will cut the carbon footprint in the state.

He said Lagos, being a coastal state, faces a lot of challenges, one of which is the Atlantic Ocean rising at the peak of the rainy season, adding that the state is also at the end of numerous tributaries where water is discharged into the lagoon all of which could lead to flooding in the state.

He said Lagos generates between 13,000 to 14,000 tonnes of waste per day and the state is open to suggestions about possible productive ways to turn it into a Resource and move the state forward.

Wahab said Lagos as a State is working to decongest the roads and make Lagos a 21st-century mega-city, saying that the cause and effect on the environment are that these moves help to reduce the emissions in the long run.

The Commissioner said Lagos accounts for over 50% of the vehicular traffic in the country but has the smallest land mass as well as over 22 million people, which is 10% of the country’s population being inhabited in with less than 3,600 square kilometres of land, stressing that the project is not an option but a necessity. 

He said that selected state officials had previously visited Sweden, and the reports of their findings have been submitted, saying that the State will require a road map from the Swedish organisation, which can be designed into the road map for the state.

He recalled that earlier in the year, the state government had been in consultation with two Dutch companies, one which would turn waste into energy and the other which would deal with electronic waste, adding that the state can indeed change the notion that waste is not a waste but a resource.

The Head of the delegation, representative of the Consul of Sweeden and the Business Promotion Officer, Sweden Embassy, Abuja, Ms. Sara Ibru noted that the Lagos Government is known to be very proactive in all its endeavours and that the Swedish Organisations are willing to collaborate with Lagos State to turn solid and liquid wastes into valuable resources. 

The Honourable Commissioner was joined by the Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services, Gaji Omobolaji Tajudeen and his counterpart in Drainage Services, Engr. Mahamood Adegbite to receive the visitors

The organisation’s representatives include the Swedish Trade and Investment Council (Business Sweden); the Honourary Consul of Sweden in Nigeria; Swedish Development Agency (SDA); NIR International Council of Swedish Industry and Swedfund.