The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) convened a sensitisation meeting on 23 September 2026 with its Construction and Demolition Waste Department at LAWMA headquarters to discuss the role of the GROW project in advancing sustainable waste management in Nigeria. APODISSI, an SME that works closely with technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions across northern and southern Nigeria, was represented at the meeting by Zainab Suleiman.
Elizabeth Ademola, Circular Economy and Sustainability Expert from LAWMA, opened the discussion by outlining GROW’s contribution to construction and demolition waste (CDW) management, explaining how its training can equip Nigerian youth with the skills to manage waste sustainably.
Nigeria’s rapid urbanisation has placed increasing pressure on waste management systems, with construction and demolition waste representing a growing and under-addressed share of the total volume. Bringing an authority of LAWMA’s scale into dialogue with a vocational training initiative such as GROW reflects a recognition that sustainable waste management is as much a skills challenge as an infrastructure one, and that meaningful change requires public agencies, training providers and industry to work from a shared playbook.
Building on this, Adebayo Adekoya, Head of Department, LAWMA presented the principal challenges facing the sector, namely the limited use of digital tools and equipment and the need for more detailed waste data analysis. These concerns echo the findings of the GROW needs analysis, in which several stakeholders identified the same gaps. A specialised module, developed by the consortium and designed by the AREA team, responds directly to these challenges by addressing the application of digital tools for sustainable waste management.
For APODISSI, the session forms part of a wider engagement effort across northern and southern Nigeria, where the project is working to connect TVET schools, employers and public authorities around a shared understanding of sustainable construction waste practices. Conversations of this kind help ground the project’s curriculum development in the realities faced by institutions like LAWMA that manage waste at scale, ensuring that what is taught in the classroom has genuine relevance on the ground.
Oshagbemi Olaitan from LAWMA added that the initiative would also help to restore land and clean the environment. The engagement adds to GROW’s growing network of stakeholder relationships in Nigeria, following earlier sensitisation and needs-analysis work conducted during the first quarter of the year. APODISSI will continue building on this as the project moves forward with curriculum rollout and trainer recruitment across partner institutions.
In closing, Jirinsola Olaleye, Head of the Circular Economy Department at LAWMA observed that, with the support of international organisations such as ITECONS, GROW is well placed to equip young people in Nigeria and Mozambique with the skills required to manage waste effectively.