The Lagos State Government has begun consultations with landowners, traditional rulers and community leaders in Ikorodu and Badagry over plans to establish Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) at Agbowa and Erekiti.

The engagement is aimed at addressing concerns among host communities while explaining how the facilities are expected to transform waste management and create economic opportunities for residents.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting in Alausa, Lagos, the Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services, Mr Mobolaji Gaji, said the proposed facilities were part of the state’s plan to move from conventional waste disposal to a circular economy in which waste is treated as a resource.

Gaji said Lagos generates more than 13,000 tonnes of municipal waste daily, making efficient recovery and recycling essential to the state’s environmental sustainability.

He explained that the facilities would receive, sort and recover recyclable materials such as plastics, metals, paper and organic waste for reuse and further processing.

“This is not just about constructing infrastructure. It is about building a sustainable waste-management value chain that will create jobs, generate wealth and reduce our dependence on landfills,” he said.

Gaji assured residents that the facilities would not be conventional dump sites but enclosed and environmentally controlled plants built to approved standards.

“There is no need for apprehension. These facilities are not dump sites,” he said, adding that the government would establish stakeholder representation and a grievance-redress mechanism to address complaints.

He said host communities would benefit through employment, skills acquisition, improved sanitation, access roads and other infrastructure, urging traditional rulers, Baales, youth leaders and community associations to help sensitise residents.

The Managing Director of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, said the two facilities were expected to create about 5,000 direct and indirect jobs.

He said youths and women would have opportunities in plant operations, maintenance, environmental monitoring, security, cleaning and materials handling, while local businesses could benefit from activities linked to recycling, compost production, logistics and equipment servicing.

According to Gbadegesin, environmental and social safeguards would be introduced, including controlled access, suitable buffer zones, storm-water separation, leachate management, fire protection and safe traffic circulation.

He said open burning, uncontrolled dumping and unsafe waste picking would not be permitted.

An engineer representing Zoomlion Nigeria Ltd., Mr Francis Akoto, said each location would have a Material Recovery Facility and Transfer Loading Station with a processing capacity of about 2,400 tonnes daily.

He said organic waste could be converted into compost, while plastics and metals would be recovered for recycling. The facilities, he added, would be enclosed and fitted with odour-control systems.

Akoto said the project could also help reduce roadside truck queues, unpleasant odours, rodents and mosquitoes, while reducing the amount of waste dumped in drainage channels.

He added that waste pickers would be integrated into the formal system through training, protective equipment and paid employment.

The Managing Director of Zoomlion Nigeria, Habiba Abubakar, said selected representatives from Ikorodu and Badagry would be taken to existing facilities to see the company’s operations firsthand.

“We don’t just talk, we do,” she said.
Gaji urged landowners and host communities to support the project, stressing that its success would depend on cooperation among the government, developers and residents.

The meeting was attended by traditional rulers, community leaders, landowners, local government officials and representatives of relevant state ministries and agencies.