Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti, Lagos Commissioner for the Environment
The Lagos State Government has warned Waste Collection Operators (WCOs) in the state to operate within the arms of the law and desist from any illegality in their operations or face sanctions from government.
This warning was handed down by the Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti on Friday during an interactive session with Waste Collection Operators, Community Development Council and the local government officials in Alimosho Local Government Secretariat.
He said that no Waste Collection Operators in the state were allowed to work in isolation without being monitored or without having their activities properly documented.
He decried a situation in which only two operators in Alimosho Local Government signed up with Visionscape for residential waste collection, adding that such cooperating operators were assigned certain number of trips which were being paid for by government through Visionscape which is the concessionaire for residential waste collection.
The Commissioner said that WCOs assigned to cover Commercial Premises were mandated by law to obtain the Client Operator Contractor Agreement (COCA) form before venturing into commercial waste collection, warning that any WCO found covering unallocated street or commercial premises would be decertified and their license would be revoked.
The Commissioner reiterated that for any WCO to be assigned as an operator, the WCO must have a registered company and have at least two compactors that must be certified to be in good condition.
He added that the aim of the interaction with the people at the grassroots was to encourage mutual appreciation of the existing gaps and to jointly arrive at workable solutions, stressing that government would continue to do everything possible to achieve a cleaner environment, including prompting Visionscape to add trips for WCOs where necessary.
He urged stakeholders in the area to be clear on their roles in the sanitation and protection of the environment and be prepared to spur other members of the community into positive actions towards the environment.
