Naomi Gabriel —
Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu yesterday unveiled the Adopt-a-Bin programme with an initial 40,000 standard bins deployed to households and commercial entities.
The Adopt-A-Bin Programme is said to be designed to promote effective waste management in the state, with emphasis on waste sorting right at the point of generation.
Speaking at the launch of the Adopt-a-Bin programme at Simpson Transfer Loading Station on Lagos Island, Sanwo-Olu said the gospel of waste sorting at source is now gaining ground as individual pickers of recyclable items were increasing by the day and recycling firms springing up.
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According to the governor, who was represented by the Commissioner of the Environment and Water Resources, “Today, we are at the threshold of another phase, in our Lagos Recycle Initiative, as we launch standard waste bins, for the ‘Adopt -a- Bin’ project, which is LAWMA’s latest baby, said the Commissioner of Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello, who represented the governor.
“The bins which come in two colours; the green for general waste and the blue for recyclable items, are for containerizing waste.
“These are not ordinary bins; but smart ones, built to last, and in accordance with internationally recognized quality standards. They are fitted with intelligent devices that enable tracking and identification. These unique devices also make it possible to register every single bin to individual addresses, for easy communication on issues relating to them.”
He said at the inception of his administration, they had a clear road-map of the journey to a cleaner Lagos city with sustainable environment, adding that in accordance with that road map, government had systematically unfolded its plans and strategies, one initiative after another, like the procurement of the 102 trucks and double dino bins; launch of Lagos Recycle Initiative, and now formally bringing “Adopt-a-Bin” project to life for homes, offices, churches, mosques, among others.
Sanwo-Olu said the whole essence of the standard waste bins was to simplify the process of waste management from the source.
“When you acquire the bins, you simply sort your waste and drop all recyclable items like cans, plastic, cartons, water sachet, etc. in the blue bin; while you drop the general waste in the green bin. The stability of those bins ensures easy handling by the waste collectors, who come around periodically, to empty them.
“While the PSP operators show up to empty the green bins, the recyclers come around for the blue, containing the recyclable items, which are weighed and recorded, until you are ready for redemption in cash or kind,” he said.
The governor appealed to corporate bodies, to incorporate in their Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) initiatives, the adoption of communities, especially, low-income areas, for mass provision of the waste bins, while urging all residents, markets, schools, hospitals, among others, to play their own individual roles, towards achieving a constantly clean city scape and sustainable environment.
