With over 20 million residents creating over 13,000 metric tonnes of waste per day, managing waste in a state like Lagos remains a challenging task. While the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) has done its best to rid the state of filth, or at least keep it under control, the end destination of these refuse – the dumpsites – does not appear to receive the attention that they deserve. As a result, they pose a serious health risk to anyone who lives or works nearby.
For example, the Olusosun and Igando dumpsites, where tonnes of dirt are deposited everyday, occupy vast areas of land in heavily inhabited areas of the state. Because of inadequate management, these sites have become an environmental nuisance to communities in the areas where they are located. Concerned about the environmental pollution and health risks caused by these dumpsites, people want them transferred to more suitable locations, emphasizing that their continuous operation in residential areas has become a major source of concern for them.
The stench emanating from the dumpsites is hazardous to one’s health.
House owners and tenants in impacted neighborhoods say they are now accustomed to closing their windows all day since the stench emanating from the dumpsites is hazardous to their health. This, of course, forces them to contend with unfavorable temperatures within their apartments. Commuters traveling towards Igando from Isheri are typically bombarded by a deluge of unpleasant scent from Lanre Bus Stop, where Solus One, a huge dumpsite, is located. As the journey continues, travelers are forced to breathe terrible odors emitted by a larger dumpsite and landfill Solus Three, located at Oko Filling Bus Stop.
The 100-acre dumpsite is said to be Africa’s largest and one of the world’s largest. The plant receives up to 10,000 tonnes of waste each day, and waste from approximately 500 container ships are carried there everyday, with a significant amount of it being electronic waste. The Igando Landfill, for its part, is eight hectares in size, and over a thousand scavengers “feed” on both landfills on a daily basis. However, one thing that is synonymous with the Olusosun and Igando dumpsites is the fact that inhabitants and visitors are continuously assailed by the stink they generate due to poor site management.
Some families even relocated due to smells generated from waste.
Efforts were made in the past by responsible authorities to address this threat, but little progress was accomplished. As a result, some inhabitants have abandoned their homes and migrated elsewhere, while those without alternatives and those with thick skins have remained. Michael Hogan, a former resident of Igando’s Lanre district, remarked that the poisonous smell from the dumpsite became so bad that “I had to relocate my family to a safe environment, and planning to follow them when my rent expires.” However, it has been reported that the odor from the dumpsite is getting overwhelming, and the water in the surrounding area is dangerous to drink.
While charging the administration with relocating the dumpsite, Mr. Kola Adedayo, a resident of Olusosun, stated that the dumpsite was efficiently maintained during the reign of former governor Babatunde Fashola, with chemical compounds daily sprayed to dramatically lessen the stink. Mr. Adedayo stated that relocating the two largest dumpsites away from residential areas would protect the populations from air pollution and medical difficulties such as Anosmia – the loss of one’s sense of smell, whether total or partial; diarrhea, and malaria.
Smells caused many families to visit the hospital on a regular basis.
Mrs. Omolola Alebiosu, another Olusosun neighborhood resident, stated that the toxic odour emanating from the dumpsite has forced her family to attend hospitals on a regular basis for treatment, with more than half of the family’s wages going toward treating connected illnesses. A survey conducted by a journal of Sustainable Development, titled “Impact of Sanitary Landfills on Urban Residential Property Value in Lagos State, Nigeria,” and published by the Canadian Centre of Science and Education, concluded that landfills have a negative impact on the value of residential property, despite the fact that other studies have contradicted the claim in some cases.
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Poorly maintained dumpsites is a menace – Managing waste in a state like Lagos remains a daunting assignment. – Express your point of view.
It is unfortunate the dumpsites are not well maintained. We can actually see to ensure that the dumpsites are taken care of and well maintained. We can also recycle some wastes.
Concerns raised against dump sites should be taken into consideration. It should be transferred to more suitable locations because their existence in residential areas has become a major source of concern the people and their environments.
Sad that Even while the Lagos State Waste Management Agency has done everything in its power to clean up the state and to keep it under control, the final resting place for all of this garbage is still unknown.
Because of this, they provide a significant danger to the health of everybody who lives or works in the surrounding area.
The poorly maintained dumpsites is seriously an eyesore to the country at large because these dumpsites are located where everyone passing by in those environment can easily see them.Apart the side are eyesore,it can cause disease to the people living in the environment.
Large tracts of land in densely populated regions of the state are occupied by the Olusosun and Igando dumpsites, which receive tonnes of waste on a daily basis and deposit it there.
These locations have developed into an environmental hazard for the communities that are located in the areas in which they are located as a direct result of poor management.
People want these dumpsites to be relocated to more suitable locations because they are concerned about the environmental damage and health concerns that are produced by these dumpsites.
We want them to understand that the continuing operation of their business in residential neighborhoods has become one of their primary sources of concern.
It’s a shame the landfills are neglected. To guarantee that the dumpsites are being properly maintained, we may check on them directly. Some of our garbage can even be reused.
Poorly maintained dumpsites is a menace. Everything in Nigeria is upside-down. Everything in Nigeria is facing one or two
Managing waste tend to be very challenging especially when it has to do with large metropolitan areas. In Lagos the cultural practices of clearing our environment is not active. People have to be coarse before they can do so. That is why we have environmental sanitation programs. Recycling waste should be our top priority in Nigeria. Awareness should be created and people should be thought on our to dispose waste properly for easy recycling.
Maintaining a very clean and hygienic environment require every available persons. The Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) can’t do it alone. That is why awareness needs to be created everybody need to be carried along. Sanitation must be enforced in Lagos state to be able to get positive result.
Having dumpsites all across the country that aren’t kept up is a major eyesore. In addition to being an eyesore, the sides of the building pose a health risk to the local population.
As a result of negligent oversight, these sites have become a threat to the surrounding populations’ quality of life.
Waste management facilities should not be ignored. To ensure the dumps are being kept in good condition, we may visit them ourselves. Actually, we can recycle some of our trash.
People want these dumpsites relocated because they are worried about the environmental damage and health hazards they provide. They emphasize that their continued operation in residential areas has become a big source of concern for them.
We should maintain where we kept our waste all this waste can be useful to make new things so our dumpsite should be well manage not to be affecting the people
The badly managed dumpsites are a severe issue to the country as a whole because these dumpsites are positioned in areas where everyone traveling through those environments can easily see them.
The complaints made about waste sites should be taken into account. They should be moved to locations that are more appropriate because their presence in residential areas has grown to be a significant source of worry for the people and their settings.