Lagos Enlists Transport Unions to Combat Illegal Roadside Waste Dumping

The Lagos State Government has announced a strategic partnership with major commercial transport unions to curb the growing issue of indiscriminate refuse dumping on highways, medians, and roadsides across the state.

The collaborative initiative was unveiled during a joint press briefing held at the Ministry of Transportation in Alausa by the Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, and the Managing Director of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Muyiwa Gbadegesin.

Under the new arrangement, members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Road Transport Employees Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) will be integrated into the state’s environmental enforcement framework. Union members operating across various parks and garages will serve as monitors with the authority to apprehend individuals caught disposing of waste illegally on public roads.

State officials emphasized that indiscriminate waste disposal poses severe public health and environmental risks, noting that the government will actively prosecute offenders. Transport unions were also urged to act as whistleblowers and ensure that individuals carrying waste are turned back rather than allowed to litter near transport parks.

To ensure compliance, the state government plans to conduct routine inspections of motor parks and garages, warning that facility managers will face strict sanctions if their immediate surroundings are found littered with refuse.

The enforcement push follows recent directives from the state executive ordering immediate, widespread waste evacuation across Lagos. The intervention comes in response to mounting public concern and complaints from residents regarding delayed waste collection and accumulating heaps of refuse in several communities.

Environmental authorities reiterated that maintaining proper waste disposal protocols remains essential to preventing urban flooding, safeguarding public health, and ensuring overall cleanliness across the metropolitan state.