July 11, 2025 | Lagos — Lagos State Government yesterday announced a strategic move to curb increasing pressure on its landfill sites by introducing Waste‑to‑Energy (WTE) plants across the state.
Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, made the commitment at the Lagos Investors Summit 2.0, emphasising the dual benefits of the WTE scheme: transforming municipal waste into power while reducing overflowing landfills, which have reached nearly 80% capacity.
Wahab cited alarming figures: only 63% of waste is collected formally; 67% of households resort to illegal dumping; and blocked drains from solid waste exacerbate flooding problems. The proposed WTE plant, to be built at Epe with CAPEX of about $400 million, is projected to serve up to 2 million residents, targeting a 12% internal rate of return across a 20‑year lifespan.
Drawing from past initiatives, Lagos State has already signed multiple MoUs, such as with Harvest Waste Consortium (Dutch firm), Lafarge Africa, and Swedish and British partners, to develop WTE facilities at decommissioned landfills (Olusosun, Epe, Badagry) and convert various waste streams (including plastic and electronic waste) into energy or alternative fuel.
