Epe traders get educated on proper waste management by Thrivescape Initiative

In commemoration of the 2025 World Cleanup Day, Thrivescape Initiative, in collaboration with Recyklables and the Lagos State University SDG Club, Epe, organized a market sensitization campaign to promote environmental hygiene and proper waste management.

Speaking during the exercise, Team Lead, Thrivescape Initiative, Ms Aniramu Tosin, emphasized that sustainable change requires not just periodic cleanups but consistent education that would spur behavioural change among residents.

She noted that the initiative is committed to ensuring communities like Epe and Ibeju-Lekki are not left behind in the movement for a cleaner Lagos.

A team of 12 environmental advocates reached over 150 traders, passing key messages such as discouraging the dumping of refuse in gutters and along road dividers, maintaining food hygiene, proper use of dustbins, and urging commercial drivers to prevent passengers from throwing litter out of vehicle windows.

The campaign also revealed some of the attitudes fueling indiscriminate waste disposal.

An anonymous motorcyclist told the team that many residents intentionally litter the environment to justify the work of street sweepers.

He argued that if roads and gutters remained clean, sweepers might lose their jobs and face poverty.

In contrast, a female trader highlighted infrastructural gaps, stressing that the absence of waste skips and disposal points is are major driver of indiscriminate dumping.

“Many people dispose of waste indiscriminately because they do not have adequate facilities. Until skips and PSP services are made available, it will be difficult to hold offenders accountable,” she said.

Thrivescape Initiative is urging the Lagos State Government to address these concerns by expanding waste management infrastructure and strengthening PSP operations in hinterland areas such as Ibeju-Lekki and Epe.

The sensitization reinforced the 2025 World Cleanup Day theme, emphasizing that both citizens’ attitudes and government investment are critical to achieving a cleaner, healthier environment.