DIMENSION OF ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION ON SOLID WASTE SOURCE-SEPARATION AMONG LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS IN BAUCHI METROPOLIS, NIGERIA.

Abstract

an obvious environmental problem in cities all over the world is the solid waste produced by industry and consumption. In rapidly expanding metropolitan areas, this accumulation is more of a catastrophe problem than ever before. Municipal solid waste is a significant environmental issue in Bauchi. Government laments that the current disposal sites are quickly filling up following the privatization of services with various businesses known as private sector participants (PSPs) that run as Bauchi State Environmental Protection Agency (BASEPA) franchisees. In order to increase the amount of trash that is diverted from landfills as a result of the rapidly filling dumpsites, BASEPA plans to implement a solid waste source separation policy in the city. Examining the feasibility of implementing a source-separation policy in the less compliant low-income population segment by assessing the aspects of attitude and perception is intended to give insight into the practical feasibility of instituting source-separation in all population segments. The data for this study were collected using a structured questionnaire. All analyses were conducted using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS v25). According to the study, more than half (50.9%) of surveyed households have a poor perception of source separation, while 49.1% had a good perception of source separation. Similarly, it was also found that over half (52.5%) of surveyed households have a poor attitude toward source separation, while 47.5% of them have a good attitude toward source separation. It is recommended that a bottom-to-top approach of sensitization, orientation, and community engagement be adopted to improve the dimensions of perception and attitudes towards solid waste source separation in the metropolis.