COMMUNITY WASTE RECOVERY AND FLOOD PREVENTION POLICY.

Turning Waste Into Value.

Living in Lagos, particularly with the environmental challenges experienced in communities such as Ayobo, Ojo,Iyana-Iba has made it difficult to ignore the consequences of poor waste management. Indiscriminate dumping, refuse accumulating in public spaces, and waste finding its way into drainage channels are not merely environmental concerns, they affect public health, movement, livelihoods, and the safety of our communities, especially during the rainy season.

What concerns me most is that we often treat waste as something to be discarded rather than a resource that can be recovered, recycled, and converted into economic value.

I remember joining the Leadgreen Fellowship driven by my interest in environmental sustainability and the need to understand how young people can contribute to solving environmental challenges in their communities. Through that fellowship, I have learnt to look beyond awareness and consider practical, community driven solutions that can deliver lasting impact.

An internship experience at Nigerian Bottling Company has also strengthened my interest in this subject where I learnt about the Coca-Cola System's Packaging Collection Hub in Apapa which has showed an important dimension of waste management: plastic bottles can be collected, sorted, processed, and reintroduced into the production value chain. The hub has an annual processing capacity of up to 13,000 metric tonnes of plastic bottles, demonstrating the potential of organised collection and recycling infrastructure in addressing plastic waste.

I therefore propose a Lagos Community Waste Recovery and Flood Prevention Policy that strengthens community level waste collection, recycling, and accountability through the following measures:

• Community Recycling and Collection Points: Establish accessible, clearly designated collection points in markets, schools, residential communities, and other public spaces, supported by reliable waste evacuation schedules.
• Waste Sorting and Recycling Incentives: Promote the separation of recyclable materials from general waste and establish partnerships with recycling companies, cooperatives, and local entrepreneurs to create economic opportunities from recovered materials.
• Drainage Protection and Enforcement: Strengthen monitoring of identified illegal dumping hotspots, ensure timely removal of waste obstructing drainage channels, and enforce existing environmental laws fairly and consistently.
• Community Participation and Accountability: Require relevant local authorities and waste management agencies to publish accessible information on collection schedules, reported dumping hotspots, and responses to community complaints. Residents should have a clear channel for reporting problems and tracking action taken.
• Legislative Oversight and measurable results: Encourage the Lagos State House of Assembly to work with relevant agencies and local governments to establish measurable indicators, including improved collection coverage, increased recovery of recyclable materials, reduced illegal dumping, and better-maintained drainage channels.

Implementation should build on existing waste management structures, including LAWMA and its accredited operators, rather than duplicate their responsibilities. It should also encourage collaboration between government, private sector recyclers, community organisations, and residents.

I believe Lagos needs more than periodic environmental clean-ups. We need a system that makes responsible waste disposal accessible, recycling economically worthwhile, and environmental accountability a shared responsibility.

My position is simple: waste management should not end at evacuation,it should begin with prevention, continue through recovery, and be sustained by accountability. Through this policy, I hope to contribute to a Lagos where cleaner communities, reduced flood risks, and green economic opportunities become achievable outcomes rather than recurring promises.