Hamzat disclosed this on Saturday while speaking with journalists during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise in Festac, Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area.
He said the additional trucks were necessary to cope with the increasing volume of waste generated in the state due to its growing population.
“The state government will be bringing in another 220 trucks to make sure that we supplement our PSP. What we need our people to also do is to make sure that they patronise their PSP, not the cart pushers, because they are not organised. You don’t know where the waste is ending up,” he said.
The deputy governor noted that the growing number of people living and working in Lagos had resulted in increased daily waste generation, making additional evacuation capacity necessary.
“A lot of people are coming to Lagos, and therefore they generate waste. So part of what you can see that we are doing is that we are getting many more trucks to actually go and evacuate,” he said.
Hamzat also urged residents to take responsibility for proper waste disposal, warning that dumping refuse in canals and drainage channels could obstruct water flow and worsen flooding.
He encouraged communities across the state to organise regular environmental sanitation exercises, with the government targeting at least one community clean-up every month.
“We cannot be a people without a healthy environment. It doesn’t matter what we do, a cleaner environment is what makes a city or a state sustainable,” he said.
The deputy governor further urged residents to maintain clean surroundings and use approved waste collection channels rather than patronising unregulated cart pushers.
Speaking on environmental management in Festac, Hamzat noted that the Federal Housing Authority has responsibilities in the area but stressed that residents and property managers must still comply with Lagos State environmental regulations.
Commissioner Wahab said the ongoing transition in the state’s waste management system had also led to the development of material recovery facilities in Badagry and Epe, as well as transfer stations at Soluyi and Olusosun.
On cart pushers, Wahab said the government was engaging with them but would not introduce measures that could create additional environmental or security challenges.
He said investigations had shown that some cart pushers dumped collected waste in drainage channels and road medians, contributing to environmental degradation and flooding.
Wahab also raised concerns over reports linking some cart pushers to criminal activities, including the cutting and theft of metals, stressing that the government could not adopt a policy that might worsen security challenges in Lagos.
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