Determined to instill a positive environmental consciousness in the younger generation, the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), has sensitised the pupils of Otto Primary School, Otto, Lagos Mainland, on proper waste management, with emphasis on recycling, as a source of personal revenue.
The Managing Director/CEO of LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, who led the LAWMA team, addressed the pupils on the importance of proper waste management, noting that the exercise was part of the Authority’s environmental sustainability initiatives, to instill responsible waste management practices in children.
He said; “I am glad to be among you all today. In LAWMA you mean so much to us and that is why we have deemed it fit to visit your school first, being the closest to us here in Otto. Diseases like malaria, diarrhea and the like, thrive in environments that are unkempt and polluted with activities like littering, reckless waste dumping, and open defecation and so on. To avoid all of these, it behooves you to do what is right by disposing of your waste properly into the waste bins’’, he stressed.
The LAWMA boss demonstrated to the children, the uses of the two waste bags, by disposing of organic waste into the black waste bag and recyclable items into the purple bag.
Earlier in her welcome address, the head teacher of the school, Mrs. Rachael Adeniyi, commended the LAWMA MD and his team for the visitation, expressing optimism that the pupils would be good environment ambassadors, as they had been taught to always keep their environment clean.
Gbadegesin presented T-shirts, pens and water bottles, to some of the vibrant pupils who participated during the sensitization talk.
The school advocacy programme by LAWMA is aimed at sensitising school pupils on the environment and proper waste management practices. It is a continuous exercise, involving schools in the state.
Recall that LAWMA Academy, the academic hub of the Authority, was established to raise the next generation of environment vanguards, through formal teaching of waste management education. In 2021, the Academy partnered the Lagos State Education Board, to incorporate waste management education in the primary school curriculum.
Folashade Kadiri (Mrs.)
Director Public Affairs
LAWMA
8th November 2023
