Waste collection and the management of dumpsites were privatised in Lagos to give way to the “Cleaner Lagos Initiative”. The unexpected move shattered the city’s waste management system which has historically been driven by the informal sector.
The waste management sector in Lagos has historically been driven by a fluid mix of “informal” workers such as the scavengers and waste pickers; more formalised enterprises contracted by the state in public-private arrangements to collect waste from residences and businesses around the city and transport it to dumpsites; and the state government working principally through the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA).
