Public Perception of Solid Waste Management Practices in Nigeria: Ogun State Experience

David O Olukanni,Favour B Pius-Imue,Sunday O Joseph

doi:10.3390/recycling5020008

David O Olukanni, Favour B Pius-Imue + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/recycling5020008

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Journal: Recycling	Publication Date: Apr 20, 2020
Citations: 21	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Covenant University

Abstract

The effects of poor solid waste management practices in many developing countries have been identified in the literature. This study focuses on understanding the public perception and attitudes of people towards local waste management practices. Five Local Government Areas in Ogun State, Nigeria, were selected based on population, landmass, spatial location, and distribution. The study used a survey that looked into the socio-demographics, household characteristics, and standard solid waste disposal practices at the household and municipal levels. Factors such as frequency of waste collection, presence of environmental task force/protection agency, and level of effectiveness of such task force/agency were all investigated. The study verified the impact of people’s attitudes towards waste management, as well as the effects of monitoring and control on the management of waste. The results showed that significant factors such as age, income, and education levels affect the perceptions, practices, and attitudes of the people towards solid waste management. An average of 36.6% of the people in the selected local governments dispose of their solid wastes at open dumps, with the majority of the residents (54.4%) still with the opinion that sanitation services are too costly and should be the prerogative of the local and state governments to carry out. These outcomes resonate that more efforts by the government and relevant stakeholders should be put into proper enforcement of environmental laws, as well as creating awareness on proper solid waste management practices in schools and public places.

Highlights

One of the major concerns of both urban and rural communities in Nigeria is the issue of waste management
The survey shows that critical factors such as age and income and education levels affect the perceptions, practices, and attitudes of the people of Ogun State towards solid waste management, with income level taking a prime position amongst the other factors
The structure of solid waste management in Ogun State is handicapped by issues such as lack of proper funding, insufficient facilities and workforce, lack of an adequate number of well-engineered sanitary landfills, as well as the lack of sufficient, consistent, and affordable solid waste collection services

Summary

Introduction

One of the major concerns of both urban and rural communities in Nigeria is the issue of waste management. One such concern is that developing countries like Nigeria spend up to 50%. Of their budgets on solid waste management (SWM) but collect no more than 80% of the generated garbage [1]. There has been an exceptional increase in the volumes of daily waste generation in the country due to various reasons, such as an increase in population, urbanization, and industrialization, as well as economic progression [7,8,9]. In Nigeria, 52% of the population live in urban areas and the average annual population growth rate is at 2.53% in 2020 [3]

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