CHAPTER ONE

1.1 INTRODUCTION
In the past, waste management was an appendage under the government setting.
The government used to manage waste, but now there is a gradual shift from
government funding with management being transferred into private hands. The
involvement of the Private Sector Participation (PSP) is one of the policies
introduced by the Lagos State Government in October 2004 to make Lagos State a
better, clean and conducive place for living. Private Sector Participation is not only
in Solid Waste Management; we also have it in Sewage disposal as well.

According to Akintola (2002:8), the present state of the PSP we have in solid waste
management came as a result of the activities of the Cart Pushers who dumped
refuse indiscriminately at any undesignated place and even resulted to black spot
which led to environmental degradation (i.e. pollution of the land and water etc).

In a bid for government to ensure that refuse carted from the point (places) of
generation to the designated site (dumpsite or landfill site) the government asked
any individual or group who are interested in the programme to apply and the
requirement for qualification is that the interested person must have functional
refuse trucks to the approved designated site.

Management of solid waste in Lagos State started with the establishment of Lagos
State Refuse Disposal Board in 1977 with Powell Duffern control consultants as
managers.

It was later changed to Lagos State Refuse Disposal Board because of the added
responsibilities of commercial, industrial collections and drain clearing, collection
and disposal of scraps and derelict vehicles were added in 1981.

Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) was established in

December 1991 by virtue of Edict No. 55 of Lagos State, which made the agency to
be responsible for the collection of disposal of municipal and industrial waste in the
state and to provide commercial services to the State and Local Governments.
Collection of refuse in the past was done by LAWMA and some private refuse
collectors (formal and informal) (Ibeyemi, 1998:27). LAWMA started PSP with a
pilot scheme in two Local Government in the State in 1994 to 1996. Until 2004, the
number of PSP vehicles going into the landfill to dispose their refuse was about 30
– 80 per day.

After the new reform of PSP which was flagged off in October 2004 in twenty four
Local Government of the State, the number of refuse trucks going into the
Olushosun landfill site alone has risen to about 400 – 480 trucks per day which
means that more refuse are leaving the streets everyday, and this development has
affected Alimosho Local Government positively over the years unlike before.
LAWMA is trying to handle the highways so that the Mega-operators can go into
the inner streets to service the tenements by adopting door-to-door or kerb
collections systems. For now, only LAWMA has the capacity to service the
markets, with Dino bins and stationary compactors placed at strategic location in
the markets.

Also, the industrial waste can only be captured by LAWMA, which has enough
technical capacity and equipment to handle the type of waste generated in the
industries. (Oyedele 2002:14)

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The partial commercialisation that is intended to bring the people into focus is
facing a serious problem as the community is brought in to contribute one way or
the other. Nigerians being used to people not paying their bills, Nigeria
Telecommunication (NITEL), Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc. (PHCH)
can tell you their experiences. The GSM Operator succeeded because they are
prepaid. In fact, paying a stipend of N1000.00 for refuse to be collected monthly, is
an uphill task for this PSP operator in collecting from house-holds.

Those currently operating as private sector operators in waste management are

mainly party stalwarts, who know little or nothing about waste management. These
operators came with everything initially; borrowed vehicles, money for fuel,
shovels, etc. If one does not pay promptly, the job will collapse, that was what
happened to the PSP Waste Management in Lagos State that collapsed about a year
ago. What we have presently is a time bomb waiting to explode.

Ayeni, (2004:14) in his view said that there are thirty-five different kinds of
disease that can be contracted through poor waste management. There is waste
management crisis in Alimosho Local Government Area and if this situation
persists in the next one year, the area you are seeing today may become another
thing entirely. It is high time they accessed the ecological fund. It is not that the
government has not recognised the problem at first hand, the truth is the problem
has outpaced them. It is easy for NITEL to disconnect you, PHCH can equally do
so from the pole, but where does the private refuse waste manager disconnect a
household?

Also, waste management on its own is both capital and economic intensive, which
means huge capital outlay is required. Where there is availability of fund, the issue
of waste management also has to be given priority. Apart from funding, there is
another important problem, which is people’s attitude. These include:
Indiscriminate waste disposal
Littering
Poor hygienic practice and
Inappropriate institution management
Do we have responsible institutional arrangement put in place by the government?
If they are entrenched, what kind of funding do they get and what is the managerial
ability of the people in charge of it? In Nigeria presently, the availability and
capacity of waste managers are lacking.

1.3 PURPOSE OF STUDY

The study sought to explain the impact of private sector participation (PSP) in
waste management in Alimosho Local Government Area, Ikotun, on how it has
affected us positively. Is our environment neat, is it cleaner, are people still
dumping refuse in the middle of the road, all market square that are usually very
dirty and filthy are they still the same or has it improved.
Basically, purpose of study is to examine the existing method of waste disposal
used by LAWMA, observe the effects and problems and come up with a solution of
a more improved means of waste management in the area.

1.4 LIMITATION OF STUDY

This study is limited due to shortage of time. The in availability of necessary
textbooks in our library is also a limitation and lack of favourable response from
some staff in the waste management department is also a limitation and a negative
effect on this work. If not the research work would have been a comprehensive one.
But with the few text available, this project is a success.