Follow Us on Google
By Lukman Olabiyi, Lagos
As part of efforts to maximise the benefit of the waste-to-wealth initiative, Lagos State Government has partnered with the Netherlands and other stakeholders who were specialists.
The Permanent Secretary, Office Of Environmental Services, Dr Mobolaji Gaji, disclosed this yesterday at a press conference.
Gaji said that based on the partnership, the state in conjunction with the Netherlands and other partners has concluded plans to hold a conference on Circular Economy tagged, Hotspot 2023 (LCEH2023).
The Permanent Secretary said the programme with the theme, ‘Towards a Circular and Resourceful Economy: The Future Lagos.’ is slated for July 26th-27th and will have 400 participants while over 1,000 will join virtually.
According to him, the Circular Economy Hotspot which had previously been hosted in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Catalonia Spain, and Dublin, Ireland, is coming to Africa for the first time and Lagos will be the host.
Gaji said, “The Circular Economy Hotspot is an initiative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands which is to serve as a platform to foster co-creation and highlight cities and societies’ transition towards a circular economy.
“To demonstrate the government’s commitment, a Technical Working Group on Circular Lagos was constituted with the objective of driving the framework and a roadmap for the transition.
“With all these activities and interactions, the Lagos Circular Economy Hotspot provides us with the opportunity to highlight how Lagos State is transitioning towards the circular economy and how our businesses and citizens are co-creating innovation.
“This initiative will also allow us to deepen the conversation as we build on our climate adaptation policy, our 30-year Lagos Development Plan, and the role of each and every stakeholder in building a sustainable city.
“Lagos, as a sub-national in the forefront of creating models for development which other States and cities in Africa emulate, is at it again.”
The Permanent Secretary recalled that the state Governor, Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu had on 2nd December 2020, organised a Roundtable on Circular Economy, bringing together all stakeholders, businesses, and citizens on this journey towards a resourceful and waste-free economy.
He noted that since the roundtable, citizens and businesses had continued the conversation on how to utilise the waste and resources in Lagos with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) at the heart of the discussion as well as the industry.
One of the participants in SMEs at the conference, Adejoke Lasisi who deals in conversion of pure water sachets and other plastic waste to bags, expressed satisfaction with the support from the Federal Government over the initiative.
She disclosed the company with not less than 21 workers has been making waves in entrepreneurship through the conversion of waste into wealth.
