The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has set a target to raise the state’s recycling rate from its current 8–10 percent to 25–30 percent within the next five years as part of efforts to strengthen its circular economy strategy.
Managing Director/CEO of LAWMA, Dr. Olumuyiwa Gbadegesin, announced the plan at the 2025 Annual Lecture and Awards of the Property and Environment Writers Association of Nigeria in Lagos. The event was themed “The Place of Waste Management in Relation to the Lagos State Government’s THEME+ Agenda and Air Quality Management in a Megacity like Lagos: Challenges and Policy Framework.”
Gbadegesin said modern waste management should be seen as an economic driver rather than just disposal, noting that Africa’s circular economy has an estimated $7.6 billion in recoverable resources annually. Lagos, he explained, will develop a network of Transfer Loading Stations and Materials Recovery Facilities, supported by performance-based contracts, to improve waste diversion and generate predictable feedstock for recycling.
“The system will support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in collection, sorting, organics processing, and logistics, thereby creating entrepreneurship opportunities and green jobs,” he said.
Chairman of the occasion, former Lagos Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Toyin Ayinde, urged Nigerians to change their perception of waste. He compared Nigeria’s 9 percent recycling rate to 29 percent in developed nations, calling for a shift toward resource optimisation.
Also speaking, General Manager of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, Babatunde Ajayi, highlighted ongoing work on air quality monitoring, vehicle emissions, and chemical management. He said monitoring coverage is at 75 percent and is expected to reach 100 percent by year-end, with data already shaping new policies and advocacy.