Speaking at a sensitization workshop on 2017 Water Technology and Environmental Control Conference and Exhibition (WATEC) held at Ikeja, Governor Ambode said the overall objective of the new environmental policy of his administration encapsulated in the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI), was basically to capitalize on the vantage position of Lagos as the world’s highest producer of waste by adopting a waste-to-wealth programme with the view to tackling environmental challenges and growing the State’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
According to the contract spanning 10 years, Visionscape which specializes in providing turnkey solutions in areas of sanitation, energy and wastewater treatment, will be responsible for door-to-door waste collection services to households in the State.
While clarifying issues raised by some of the participants at the workshop, Governor Ambode expressed excitement at the decision of Visionscape to key into the vision of his administration to revolutionize waste management in the state.
He said, “Lagos is generating the highest waste per day in the world more than New York. Documented statistics show that Lagos is generating 13,000 metric tons of waste every day. New York is generating 10,000. So, if Lagos is generating 13,000 waste per day and you factor in the unmanned areas in Ayobo, Ijede and all that combined, Lagos will be generating maybe 16,000 tons per day. The business part of it is that we can easily turn the waste into wealth and so there is an unchartered economy in the waste business in Lagos.
“From our own vision, we believe strongly that this is one sure bet way to grow our GDP but there has been a total mismanagement of waste which has led us to review our legislation and introduce waste management reform in the State and that is why we have gone into the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI).
“Through the initiative, one of the best known private sector companies in waste management is Visionscape and they are everywhere in the world. We have attracted them to Lagos and for us to do that in a period of recession speaks volume about how we are managing the State because, for them, they believe that if they can conquer Lagos, it means that there is nothing about waste management that they cannot conquer, which is our own selling point also.”
He said once the waste is properly evacuated, the firm would also facilitate the second level of waste management which is the turning of waste into wealth and other beneficial uses.
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