Lagos moves to eradicate construction, demolition wastes

The Lagos state government has launched the construction, demolition and disaster waste of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) in a bid to eradicate wastes generated during construction and demolition in the state.

Speaking at the CDDW stakeholders’ forum with the theme, “Creating Values Through Responsible Management of Construction and Demolition Wastes in Lagos State,” held in Victoria Island at the weekend, the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello, said government had not stopped devising strategies towards value creation and making life better for all, noting that disaster was an inevitable natural occurrence.

According to Bello, the theme was critical, timely and a calculated step as it was targeted at contributing frontier approaches to construction and demolition waste management towards safety, liability and sustainability of human race and the environment.

The commissioner, whose speech was read by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, said the management of CDDW had evolved over the years with the introduction of various strategies with treatment options for re-use and recycling of CDDW to guard it from constituting environmental nuisance.

“All these efforts are being concerted with due realisation that any omission or error that could be recorded in the adoption of options should not create new challenges; otherwise, the world eco-balance would be negatively affected. Whereas, we have the privileged of exploring workable and adaptable options to effectively and efficiently surmount and challenges.”

Earlier in his opening address, LAWMA CEO, Muyiwa Gbadegesin, had said there had been several attempts in the past to engage the stakeholders in the construction and demolition sector, with a view to developing policies and strategies, as well as modalities that would create a mutually beneficial relationship for effective management of CDDW in the state.

“Therefore it is with great pleasure that our past efforts have yielded positive result and here we are today, big players in the construction and demolition sector, poised to make a change and set the pace for effective management of CDDW,” he said.

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