LAWMA: 70 environmental offenders jailed, 3,200 cart pushers arrested in 2022
Stakeholders at the launch of Pakam 2.0 in Ikoyi, Lagos. PHOTO: ENIOLA DANIEL
•MD justifies increase in waste bill
•Pakam launches second version to address waste, sustain environment
Managing Director (MD), Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Ibrahim Odumboni said the agency jailed 70 environmental offenders in 2022, while others were asked to carry out community service.
Odumboni made this known at the weekend during unveiling of Pakam 2.0 in Ikoyi, Lagos. The app is aimed at improving how waste is addressed, managed and educate households on waste disposal.
The improved version will also enable recyclers get immediate cash after giving out their recyclable waste, give them access to insurance and help to report environmental infractions.
The MD said a total of 3,200 cart pushers were caught and their carts seized. Speaking on how Pakam 2.0 would improve waste management in Lagos, Odumboni said: “When it comes to solid waste, between 15 and 21 per cent of our waste is recyclable so, if we can take that away from what we dispose, it will reduce the burden on our dump sites, improve our climate goal and create more jobs, and that is why we are calling on everyone to separate their waste, recycle and use latest technologies to improve that. This is the best in the world in terms of waste management. Lagos is leading in terms of smart solution.
“Now, Pakam has a lot of partners. And as a regulatory body, Pakam is one of our initiatives born out of necessity and need. We regulate the space and at the same time we are the founding fathers of this application. The technology came to meet us at the KAWMA Academy and they came up to produce what will tackle our challenges.
Speaking on increase in price of waste bill in the state, he said: “When we are talking about waste management and economy as a whole, a lot of things have changed; price of diesel has changed; things have gone up, even the price of cart pushers have gone up but the good news for our waste managers is that the government has promised to increase their salary.
“Some of these businesses are privately owned businesses and if we keep everything statics, their staff will not have their increase in salary otherwise, they will not be able to operate. So, people must understand the workers will not be able to feed their families. Increasing the rate will also ensure a better service. We have improved our feedback system; we have a call centre that runs 17 hours a day where people can report any infraction.
“Our biggest problem is the waste on the road and it’s a cultural problem so, we don’t eat from our palms so, every house must get a bin instead of throwing dirt on the road. As we give people time to get a bin, enforcement will follow and it’s important people get bins.
During the launch, CEO, Pakam Technology Limited, Adeleye Odubumi, described the version as an improvement birthed after the success it recorded with 1.0 version: “We launched this app in June 2021 and we have learned a lot of lessons between that time and now and we listened to feedbacks to create a new solution.
“The launch of Pakam 2.0 is not about now but we anticipated what the future would be. The new feature now includes fintech integration where people can make transaction from the app to their bank account; edutech where people can read on how to handle their waste, treat and how to sustain the environment; we have also added a feature where people can use their waste to get insurance such as health insurance. People not using smartphones can also use the same technology by dialing our short code.
Odebunmi added: “Another thing we also did was to create a smart enforcement to report environmental infractions; this is the future and we have brought it.
When asked about the sustainability plan, he said: “We have partnered with stakeholders and government agencies that regulate the operation; the first thing to do is to have a great product so, for us, to remain relevant, is to continue to improve and embrace innovation. Pakam is first of its kind in the world, we have invested in Canada, registered in Delaware, US, we got a call on January 26, 2023 to start Pakam in New York. The conversation is on going in Cameroon, Congo and others.
Speaking on the implication on climate sustainability, he said: “This has a great effect on the climate; we must tell ourselves the truth, our waste infrastructure has collapsed but the problem gives us opportunity to innovate and that is why we are here, to fix the waste problem.”
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