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 Sweden organizations on how to turn both solid waste and liquid waste into energy across the metropolis.
Speaking during the meeting at Alausa, Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, said the state will 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 but other neighboring 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 the state 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 metric tons of waste per day, and the state is open to suggestions about possible productive ways and 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 is that these moves help to reduce the emissions in the long run.
According to him, As a result of the current energy crisis in Nigeria has caused a spike in the cost of PMS and its multiple effects on the economy. So if the Lagos State Government can go ahead with this project. It will solve half of the problem in the PMS high price in Lagos.
“This project is something we have to pursue deliberately and diligently."
This is because while the government, on its part, is trying to push out CNG at lower cost, conversion of waste to energy will also be an option, especially for public transport in Lagos.”
Wahab said Lagos accounts for over 50% of the vehicular traffic in the country with the smallest land mass as well as 22million people which is 10% of the country’s population being inhabited in with less than 3,600 square kilometers of land, stressing that the project is not an option but a necessity.
He said that selected state officials had hitherto visited Sweden and the reports of their findings have been submitted saying that the State will require a road map from the Swedish organization, 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 will turn waste to energy and the other which will 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 endeavors and that the Swedish organizations 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 organization’s representatives include Swedish Trade and Investment Council (Business Sweden); the Honourary Consul of Sweden in Nigeria; the Swedish Development Agency (SDA); NIR International Council of Swedish Industry and the Swedfund.
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