Household Waste Reduction Practices in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

With an average of 42 million tons of waste produced annually and no effective structure for managing solid waste in Nigeria, indiscriminate disposal of waste poses a serious danger to the constituents of the environment. Waste reduction at source is one of the potent strategies for reducing disposable waste, thereby, making non-reused waste at the household level manageable by municipal authority. Therefore, this study examines household waste reduction practices in Ibadan. A random selection of 281 respondents was conducted using a sampling ratio of 3% among three places within the Ibadan North East Local Government Area. Buying packaging-less products, targeting reusable and not items that are disposable in nature, using reusable bags made of recyclable materials for shopping, reducing food remnants and waste, and maintaining and repairing household items are the five household waste reduction practices that have been identified. Results showed that plastic accounted for more than half (54.4%) of the garbage produced, 14.6% was kitchen waste, 19.2% was glass and bottle, and 11.7% was paper waste. The study suggests an aggressive sensitisation programme by Oyo State Waste Management Authority to raise awareness of the benefits of reducing waste before disposal in Ibadan, to curb indiscriminate disposal of waste.