June 25, 2025
By Ayinde Adeleke
The Lagos State Government has announced plans to decommission the Olusosun dump site in Ojota, as well as two others in Epe and Badagry, to build waste-to-energy plants at these locations.
This move aims to improve the state’s waste management system and mitigate environmental hazards.
According to the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, the government is working to reduce the amount of waste dumped at Olusosun through recycling initiatives. “When Olusosun was established, it was actually on the outskirts, but development caught up with it.
There’s a lot of pressure on solid waste management, which is why we are working on reducing the amount of waste dumped on the Olusosun landfill through recycling initiatives,” Wahab explained.
The government plans to transform waste management in the state by focusing on recycling and introducing initiatives such as compost and biogas plants to reduce the volume of waste going to landfills.
“We are working on developing composting and biogas plants on the site. The future state is that we are going to decommission the Olusosun landfill; we are already in the process,” Tokunbo stated.
Decommissioning the dumpsite is necessary to address long-term environmental and health impacts, and the government will comply with international best practices.
“Decommissioning the dumpsite is necessary to address long-term environmental and health impacts. In doing this, we are going to comply with international best practices,” Wahab stressed.
The government also plans to establish waste-to-energy plants across the state.
“Waste-to-energy plants will be established at the Epe dumpsite. The plan is to have three waste-to-energy plants in the state at Badagry, Epe, and Olusosun. We are exploring other alternatives to be used as landfills since we are working on shutting down the Olusosun landfill,” Wahab announced.
The Waste to Energy Summit, themed “Driving Environmental Sustainability,” brought together key stakeholders to discuss sustainable solutions to waste management challenges. The event was organized by Rack Centre in partnership with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Community Development Service (CDS).
The convener of the summit, Dolapo Olaoluwa, a serving corps member, envisioned a gathering of key stakeholders to discuss solutions to the challenges posed by the Olusosun dumpsite and other waste management issues.
Mr. Adetayo Odusole, Head of Sustainability Coordination at Rack Centre, expressed enthusiasm for sponsoring the event, noting that it aligned with their goals of achieving a sustainable environment in the state.
