Lagos State is moving to replace its linear waste management model with a circular system aimed at energy recovery and material reuse, a transition that reflects broader global shifts in urban sustainability.
The city currently generates an estimated 13,000 tones of waste daily, with much of it ending up in overstretched landfill sites. Officials say the new strategy is designed to redirect this waste stream into productive uses, from energy generation to industrial inputs, while gradually decommissioning existing dumps.
At the core of the initiative is a memorandum of understanding signed with three organizations: the Netherlands-based Harvest Waste Consortium, Lafarge Africa Plc, and Ghana’s JONSPONG Group of Companies. Harvest Waste is expected to deploy technology capable of converting nearly 3,000 tones of municipal waste per day into energy—a capacity that, if achieved, would process close to a quarter of Lagos’s daily waste output.
Lafarge Africa will integrate non-recyclable combustible waste into its cement production cycle, an approach aligned with global trends in co-processing that reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Meanwhile, JONSPONG will focus on solid and liquid waste treatment and the development of a dedicated Material Recovery Facility, designed to ease pressure on landfill sites and increase recycling rates.
The partnerships are supported by modular processing facilities under development by the state, all feeding into the goal of achieving “zero waste to landfill.” This objective, while ambitious, aligns with international benchmarks as cities from Amsterdam to Singapore adopt circular economy principles to manage urban waste.
Lagos officials have framed the transition as part of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s THEMES+ Agenda, which links environmental sustainability with public health and economic growth. Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources Tokunbo Wahab said the strategy would be anchored in innovation, strategic collaboration, and technology transfer, underscoring the state’s commitment to world-class solutions for one of Africa’s most populous cities.
