Abstract
There is a gap in the literature linking waste management practices to social theory. This paper attempts to bridge this gap through a study of waste management practices in Ala Ajagbusi village, Nigeria. The study explores how members of households in Ala Ajagbusi handle waste. The relevant themes of the empirical findings are categorized and linked to a social theory, Michel Foucault’s governmentality. The aim was to investigate how members of the households handle and make sense of their waste management practices. This research adopts a qualitative approach and is inspired by phenomenology. These are the bedrocks upon which the data collection methods are chosen and the interview questions are informed accordingly. The results show that villagers collectively, every week in a rotational manner, sweep their households, dispose of, and burn waste in public spaces. Villagers walk some miles from their households before they can empty their waste receptacles. Sometimes waste management behaviours are adjusted to seasonal variations. The findings also show that the villagers have no engagement with the state and local government concerning waste management. The results are linked to social theory to understand the waste management behaviours of villagers in Ala Ajagbusi.
Highlights
There is a wide gap in the literature linking waste management practices to social theory.This paper attempts to bridge that gap through a study of waste management practices in Ala Ajagbusi village, Nigeria
For Li (2007), the exercise of government is not limited to the official state apparatus with its “diverse state agencies with competing visions, mandates and techniques”; “it includes other actors from different sectors of society involved in different programs and interventions, or improvement schemes”. Taking this notion into account, we explore the technologies put in place by individuals or groups of individuals and civil societies to understand how household waste management is handled in Ala Ajagbusi village, Nigeria
The empirical findings show that the handling of the waste in the village is done at the intra- and inter-household level without any engagement with local or state government
Summary
There is a wide gap in the literature linking waste management practices to social theory. This paper attempts to bridge that gap through a study of waste management practices in Ala Ajagbusi village, Nigeria. There is significant empirical information on the waste situation, characteristics and waste management practices in Nigeria. In Nigeria, poor waste management practices have been associated with inadequate waste management awareness, inappropriate waste management attitude and inadequate basic waste management infrastructure such as incinerators, recycling plants, and high-tech landfill facilities (Ifegbesan 2010; Mansur 2015). In a study of waste management practices in southwestern Nigeria, Ifegbesan (Ifegbesan 2010) submits that waste separation practices were very inappropriate amongst the informants interviewed. Adogu et al (2015) conclude that the majority of the people interviewed in their study do not separate their waste before disposal In a study of waste management practices in southwestern Nigeria, Ifegbesan (Ifegbesan 2010) submits that waste separation practices were very inappropriate amongst the informants interviewed. Adogu et al (2015) conclude that the majority of the people interviewed in their study do not separate their waste before disposal
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