A Professor of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering at the University of Ilorin, Adeniyi Saheed Aremu, has called for the adoption of smart technologies and increased private sector participation to improve waste management in Nigeria.
Speaking at the University of Ilorin’s 303rd Inaugural Lecture titled “Municipal Solid Waste: Complexities in the Transition from Cradle to Grave,” Aremu said Nigeria generates about 44.5 million metric tonnes of solid waste annually, much of which remains uncollected.
He advocated waste segregation at source, greater recycling, and investment in modern infrastructure such as IoT-enabled smart bins, waste-to-energy plants, sanitary landfills and material recovery facilities.
The professor also urged authorities to embrace digital route-planning systems, data-driven decision-making and strategic spatial planning to improve waste collection efficiency and reduce operational costs.
Aremu called for sustainable financing mechanisms, including recycling initiatives, energy recovery programmes and extended producer responsibility schemes, while stressing the need to integrate informal waste workers into formal waste management systems.
He further advocated a decentralised framework that encourages private sector involvement in waste collection, landfill management and resource recovery, with government serving primarily as regulator and facilitator.
The don also recommended the development of a comprehensive national solid waste management master plan backed by effective regulations, sustainable funding and public awareness campaigns.
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