Mrs Habiba Abubakar, Country Managing Director of Zoomlion, has explained how the company is supporting Lagos State’s waste management system by helping Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators improve their operations and move towards a circular economy.
Abubakar spoke about the company’s recent intervention at the Olusosun dumpsite in Lagos, where it rehabilitated access roads and improved waste disposal platforms to address challenges affecting waste collection across the state.
According to her, the intervention became necessary because heavy rainfall had made several dumpsites difficult to access. Poor road conditions meant waste trucks could not easily enter the sites, discharge their loads and return to collect more waste.
The situation resulted in long queues of PSP trucks and significantly increased their turnaround time. Instead of completing multiple trips in a day, some operators reportedly had to wait for several days before they could discharge their waste.
Abubakar said this eventually affected residents because the PSP operators were unable to return quickly to collect waste from homes.
ZOOMLION’S ROLE
Abubakar explained that Zoomlion has more than 25 years of experience in waste management through its parent company, Zoomlion Ghana, and operates across different parts of the waste management value chain.
She said that in Lagos, the company focuses mainly on waste treatment rather than the collection activities handled by PSP operators.
“Our role is really to help the PSPs move from a linear economy to a circular one,” she said, explaining that the company works to turn waste into useful resources through a “waste-to-wealth” approach.
She added that the Lagos State Government and the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), aware of the company’s expertise, approached Zoomlion for assistance when the problems at the dumpsite became serious.
Although the intervention was outside the original scope of their partnership, Abubakar said the company agreed to help because of the potential impact of the waste management crisis on residents and operators.
She noted that Zoomlion brought in members of its team from other African countries, developed an action plan and initially targeted completing the rehabilitation work within 21 days.
However, persistent rainfall caused delays, and the work was eventually completed in 25 days.
IMPACT ON WASTE COLLECTION
Abubakar said the rehabilitation has improved the movement of waste trucks at the dumpsite and should significantly reduce the time operators spend waiting to discharge waste.
With improved access, trucks can now move more efficiently, dispose of their loads faster and return to collect more waste.
She said the faster turnaround would benefit PSP operators financially while also improving waste collection for residents across Lagos.
Ultimately, Abubakar said the goal is to ensure that waste collection continues smoothly while creating a system where discarded materials can be converted into useful resources rather than simply being dumped.
