The Private Sector Participation (PSP) in waste management in Lagos State has called for stiffer punishment for anyone caught dumping refuse indiscriminately on the road in the state.

Mr Olabode Coker, PSP Chairman, Agbado Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.

According to him, indiscriminate dumping of refuse is one of the major challenges facing PSP operators in the state.

“A lot of residents do not want to pay for PSP services, they prefer taking their refuse to medians, road side and bus stops, because one way or the other, it has been encouraged. As a matter of compulsion, we have to go there and pick it up; and because of that, they keep doing it”.

“Government must bring stiffer punishments and sanctions on anyone caught, or who refused to make use of PSP in the community. The individual or the house involved must be charged to court, to serve as deterrent to other perpetrators in the community,” he said.

The PSP chairman urged the state government to urgently find solutions to the challenges of delay of trucks at dump sites.

Coker noted that government must urgently attend to the treatment and maintenance of dump sites to enable PSP operators to do their work effectively.

“Many of us stayed for many days at the dump sites due to lack of access road to the site; many vehicles were damaged in the process of removing them from the sites, thus posing a lot of challenges to the operators”

“That is why the turnaround time is low these days; but if you are sure of getting to dump sites and come back within short period, within few weeks, Lagos State will be completely free of dirt on the road. It is the dumping site that is the bedrock of waste management, and it has to be attended to with all seriousness”.

“We urgently want the state government, through the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), to attend to the challenges of maintenance at the dump sites. This will ensure free flow of vehicles for better performance, as the festive season approaches,” Coker said.