LAWMA CEO Projects $2.5 Billion Annual Revenue for Lagos Through Circular Economy

The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) anticipates that Lagos State could generate up to $2.5 billion annually by fully leveraging a circular economy.

Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of LAWMA, shared this projection during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

A circular economy is a sustainable economic model that focuses on reusing and regenerating materials to maintain continuous production while minimizing environmental impact.

Gbadegesin emphasized that harnessing the potential of a circular economy in Lagos would require extensive public advocacy and awareness campaigns.

“The era of the linear waste collection model is over; hence, the need to adopt circular economy principles in waste management,” he stated.

“We were used to applying the linear model of waste collection. Here, waste is collected, taken to a landfill, and then buried.

“Now, we are introducing circular economy. All of that waste buried before, now has value.

“Circular economy is a major initiative because we are talking about a radical transformation of the current system of transporting 13,000 tonnes of waste per day to a point.

“Ten thousand tonnes of that waste can be pushed into other uses in a circular economy,” Gbadegesin explained.

He underscored the importance of waste sorting at the source to optimize the benefits of a circular economy.

“Ninety per cent of our waste still has value if sorted. We must begin to sort at source, which will require a lot of education and advocacy.

“We must be able to collect the sorted waste through community recycling centres, where people within that area can bring recyclable materials like PET bottles, papers, metal, and even food waste, where off-takers will receive in exchange for incentives.

“The circular economy drive is a major undertaking. We are not doing this in isolation. We are working with sister agencies.

“We are so busy pushing this initiative that we do not have enough time to tell the stories of what we are doing,” he added.