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Social Context of Solid Waste Disposal among Residents of Ibadan
Metropolis, Nigeria
Temitope A. Ogunweide
Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Email: snowgy2001@gmail.com
Keywords: Sustainable Waste Management, Waste handling, Ibadan Metropolis, Landfill,
Municipal Solid Waste
Abstract. The study sought to assess the social context of solid waste disposal pattern of residents
in Ibadan metropolis, in order to assess the Solid waste disposal patterns of people in Ibadan
metropolis, Oyo State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study identified solid waste disposal habits of
residents, frequency of clearing the dumpsters, accessibility of waste dumpsters to people
determines the waste disposal pattern of people; and analyze the willingness of people in Ibadan to
pay for improved service. Solid waste management has been part of human activities right from
time. Efforts by Oyo State Government are noticed in the collection of waste dropped on the
median. Waste generation is an unavoidable product of man activities, however, sustainable
management of such waste is a challenge faced in many countries today. Nigeria, a developing
country in Africa, has been in a difficult situation of how to efficiently manage the municipal solid
waste its growing population generates. Many states in the country lack adequate plans and
infrastructure required for efficient and sustainable management of municipal solid waste. For
Ibadan, the largest city in Nigeria, the problem is further compounded by its rather large and still
increasing population. In this research, Ibadan metropolis is taken as a case study; the rate of solid
waste handling in households as regards solid waste management from household collection to final
disposal are focused upon. The study found out that 45.6% drop their refuse in the dumpsters as
18.8% burns their refuse, 17.7% of the respondents drops their waste on the median, 12% in the
drainage while 6% opts to drop their waste in the streams.
On the effectiveness of the Private operators collecting waste from the respondents, the study found
out that 7.6% effective, 37.5% of the respondents says the operators waste collection is poor, 7%
says it is abysmal while 43.5% said it is not applicable to them because they do not have storage
containers in their houses and as a result did not subscribe to their service. Many countries,
particularly the developed ones, have employed options in the waste management hierarchy for
sustainable management of their municipal solid waste and the blend of options employed is usually
highly dependent on local factors. Following the waste management hierarchy, possible options for
sustainable municipal solid waste management in Ibadan are discussed. It is concluded that waste
reduction, reuse, and recycling are potential management options for the state. Landfilling will
remain an important option for final disposal but reliance on this method could be significantly
reduced if management options are exploited to the maximum in a sustainable solid waste
management structure in Ibadan metropolis.
Introduction
Most human activities naturally results in the generation of waste. Waste generation is unavoidable
in our day to day activities, which calls for waste generated to be managed. Rapid population
growth makes waste management more challenging, more people in an area would imply higher
level of waste generation. Poorly managed waste are seen as environmental hazards, the inabilities
of societies to manage waste generated effectively play a great role in increasing the present
environmental pressures (Alam et al., 2007). The challenge gotten from the generation of waste of
waste is not just coping with the volume produced, but with the ability to design how to effectively
and efficiently manage the waste in a sustainable manner. Ali (1999), noted that waste should be
International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences Submitted: 2019-05-12
ISSN: 2300-2697, Vol. 89, pp 16-24 Revised: 2020-05-13
doi:10.18052/www.scipress.com/ILSHS.89.16 Accepted: 2020-06-02
2020 SciPress Ltd, Switzerland Online: 2020-12-22
SciPress applies the CC-BY 4.0 license to works we publish: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
disposed of in a safe way which takes into cognizance the health of environment and that of the
public at present, while ensuring non-detrimental effects on generations to come.
Anthropogenic activities have almost imposed huge threats to the environment. Waste is the most
evident product of human activities. According to UNEP (2009), daily global generation of
municipal solid waste in 2006 was reported as 1.3 billion tonnes per year but has been projected to
increase to 2.02 billion tonnes by 2025. It has been observed that there is scarcely a city or
community that does not generate waste. The rapid acceleration of waste generated has exceeded
the earth’s carrying capacity by 30% in serving the pollution intensity (odum and Odum, 2006).
One basic challenge in a community is that unwanted materials generated by the people are not
adequately disposed. These unwanted materials are termed ‘Waste’.
The World Health Organization (2008) defines waste as “something, which the owner no longer
wants at a given time and space and which has no current or perceived market value”. According to
EPA (2007) waste could be in a liquid, gaseous or solid form and may constitute both
biodegradable and non-biodegradable materials. The rapid increase of waste management has made
the environment to undergo degradation as reported in various parts of the world, particularly id
under-developed and most developed countries (Rahji and Oloruntoba, 2009; Ngoc and Schnitzer,
2009).
According to Oteng- Ababio (2011), most developed countries actively pursue efficiency in solid
waste management (SWM), however the same cannot be said of the less developed counterparts,
where inadequate access to funds, weak institutional framework, little staff encouragement, lack of
access to appropriate technology, unending change in consumption trend continues to hinder the
achievement of sustainability in the sector.
Therefore, this calls for an urgent need to assess the waste management system. In less developed
countries like Nigeria, proper waste disposal has become a serious concern as many areas are
developing without proper planning, inadequate governance, resource constraints and less attention
are given to provision of proper refuse dumps. As a result of the inadequate planning, man has
carelessly polluted the environment in a bid to dispose waste materials appropriately (Ololade et al.,
2009). Sustainable development has become the target of modern society where economic progress
works in hand with environmental preservation and conservation. Different technological
approaches has been introduced to prevent the environment from degrading. Proper waste
management has become more crucial in urban areas where the dense population has resulted in
rapid waste generation.
Objectives of the Study
The aim of the study will be achieved through the following objectives:
1. To identify the solid waste disposal habits of residents at Ibadan metropolis, Oyo State.
2. To determine the frequency of clearing the dumpsters around the communities in Ibadan.
3. To determine the accessibility of waste dumpsters to people.
4. To analyze the willingness of people in Ibadan metropolis to pay for improved solid waste
management in Ibadan Metropolis.
Limitations of the Study
This study is basically concerned with the social context of waste disposal pattern of residents in
Ibadan metropolis. There are illegal waste disposal activities been done across the 11 LGAs in
Ibadan metropolis. However due to time constraints, the study has limited itself to just 2 LGAs. As
is usual in Household surveys, a few problems were encountered during the actual data collection
International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences Vol. 89 17
process. In a few cases, individual households were unwilling to respond to certain questions.
Depending on the type of missing data, those households had to be replaced on a random basis with
households from the same ward. There was difficulty in communication due to language barrier, but
it was solved with the aid of a research assistant. We are still confident that the data quality is high,
as the questionnaire was carefully designed and the survey was well prepared and implemented.
2. Materials and Methods
Ibadan is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, Nigeria. With a population of over 3
million, it is the third most populous city in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano; it is the country's largest
city by geographical area. At the time of Nigeria's independence in 1960, Ibadan was the largest and
most populous city in the country, and the second most populous in Africa after Cairo.
Ibadan is located in south-western Nigeria, 128 km inland northeast of Lagos and 530 km southwest
of Abuja, the federal capital, and is a prominent transit point between the coastal region and the
areas in the hinterland of the country.
2.1 Source of Data and Sampling Procedure
The study was carried out in Ibadan North and Oluyole LGAs respectively. Ibadan North is made
up of 13 wards while Oluyole has 10 wards. Data were collected with the use of structured
questionnaires, observations and Key Informant Interview. A stratified sampling technique was
used to select three wards from each LGA to represent different classes of people in the study area.
From each stratum a representative sample of 64 households were randomly selected to give a
sample size of 384 households.
2.2 Method of Data Analysis
The Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) will be used to analyze the obtained data.
This includes the use of descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, charts) and inferential
statistics (chi-square).A confidence level of 95% was used and p-values ≤ 0.05 considered
statistically significant. The descriptive statistics will give a clear account or representation of what
is or what the immediate group of data will show while the inferential statistics will be used to
derive a conclusion that extend beyond the immediate data alone; i.e. it enables the use of the
sample data to make generalizations about the population from which the samples were drawn.
3. Result and Discussion
Table 1, the results of the study shows that of the 384 people interviewed, 49.7% were male and
50.3 female. As shown on table 4.1, the number of children given birth to by respondents shows
that 28.4% had one child, 24.5% has two children, 10.2% has three children, 2.9% has four
children, 1.3% has five children, 0.8% has five children and above while 32.0% of the respondents
has no child yet. The age categorization of the people shows that 13.3% belong to 18-23yrs, 32.3%
belong to 24-29yrs, 32.3% belong to 30-35yrs, 13.5% belongs to 36-49yrs and 8.6% belongs to 50-
55yrs. Further analysis shows that 35.9% were Yoruba, 18.2% Hausa/Fulani, 38.8% Igbo were the
majority of the respondents and 7% from other tribes. The survey revealed that 28.6% were single,
69.5% which represents more than average of the sampled respondent were married and a meager
1.8% of the respondents are divorced.
18 ILSHS Volume 89
Table 1
Variables
Respondents
Gender
Frequency
Percent
Male
191
49.7
Female
193
50.3
Total
384
100.0
Number of children
Frequency
Percent
One
109
28.4
Two
94
24.5
Three
39
10.2
Four
11
2.9
Five
5
1.3
Others
3
.8
Total
261
68.0
Missing System
123
32.0
Total
384
100.0
Age of Respondents
Frequency
Percent
18-23
51
13.3
24-29
124
32.3
30-35
124
32.3
36-49
52
13.5
50-55
33
8.6
Total
384
100.0
Ethnicity
Frequency
Percent
Yoruba
138
35.9
Hausa/Fulani
70
18.2
Igbo
149
38.8
Others
27
7.0
Total
384
100.0
Marital Status
Frequency
Percent
Single
110
28.6
Married
267
69.5
Divorced
7
1.8
Total
384
100.0
International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences Vol. 89 19
Table 2 shows that reuse of items is prominent in all the households that was sampled. The degree
to which this is practiced varies from house to another, as such that at least one item made out of
plastics such as water bottles, plates are reused in most of the house (Field survey, 2018) .Other
items that are reused include textiles that are reused in the form of old clothing, these are given out
to the less privileged, used as dusters or foot mats. Newspapers serve as art materials for school
children, Nylons are reused to pack materials at different households. It was observed that the
reused of different materials are tied mostly with economic benefits that maybe derived and it is
sometimes born out of convenience
Table 2 represents the Overall distribution of disposal patterns of residents
Variables
Respondents
Type of Solid waste
generated in Household
Frequency
Percent
Kitchen waste
188
49.0
Paper
104
27.1
Plastic
53
13.8
Woods
2
.5
Nylons
37
9.6
Total
384
100.0
The results on figure 1 shows the roles that storage container plays in the final disposal of waste, the
study investigated the acquisition of storage containers through asking respondents to describe the
means by which theirs was acquired. Of 384 respondents surveyed, 20% bought the storage
container, 28% said it was provided by landlord while 52% did not have any storage container.
From the study, it shows that onsite storage is a major problem. This shows that onsite storage is of
primary importance because of public health concerns (Uchegbu, 2002).
Figure 1 Distributions of respondents’ means of acquiring a storage container
This shows different methods by which waste is been disposed by various households. The results
in figure 2 shows that most of the respondents are involved in disposing their waste in dumpsters
(45.6%) as 18.8% burns their refuse, 17.7% of the respondents drops their waste on the median,
12% in the drainage while 6% opts to drop their waste in the streams.
Bought
20%
landlord
28%
None
52%
Bought
landlord
None
20 ILSHS Volume 89
Majority of people are still disposing their waste in the drainage, streams and still burning
their refuse which disfigures and pollutes our environment thereby contributing to the
depletion of the ozone layer. There is an ongoing sensitization activity across the state to
ensure that people buy a storage container to reduce the amount of waste container that
goes into the landfills. Although it was tried in the past to subsidize bins and give nylons for
free but the program came to an abrupt end.
This is consistent with the findings of Adewole, (2009) who identified unhealthy waste disposal
habits of the residents, continual increase in the state’s population, corrupt practices and lack of
proper role definition among related agencies as some of the problems encountered in the
management of solid waste in the city of Lagos. The interviews and observation in this study shows
that the bins are being sold and given the financial constraints that maybe involved, a practical
starting point in Ibadan would be to provide bins to each household at a subsidized rate. This also
shows that many urban cities and towns do not benefit from any organized waste management
services and therefore wastes are unattended to, buried, burnt or disposed indiscriminately (Ndinwa
et al., 2012)
Figure 2 showing Respondents distribution pattern of waste disposal
To assess whether residents will be willing to pay for improved waste management service, the
respondents were asked if they were satisfied with the operations of the waste collectors. 30.5% of
the respondents responded ‘yes’ while 69.5% responded ‘no’. In trying to know whether they would
be willing to pay for improved service, 21.1% responded “yes and 78.9% ‘no’. When probed further
they believed that there is no justification for the amount of money that they are collecting at the
moment as the rate been charged at the moment is dependent on the type of building and residential
area been serviced and not on the amount of waste been generated. The respondents also noted that
the operators litter their street after packing they litter the street as a result of overfilled vehicles and
that the bins are handled carelessly.
It is often seen as though the waste collectors are not working but most times people do not
pay for the services that is been rendered to them by this private companies. Sometimes 50
out of 500 people in a particular area pays the charged fee monthly and we have also seen a
situation whereby everyone in an area owes about 6 months fee and they still want the
operators to come and pack their refuse.
45.6
18.8 17.7
6
DUMPSTER
BURNING
ON THE MEDIAN
STREAMS
International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences Vol. 89 21
Table 3 Distribution of Respondents’ Satisfactory Level of Services Rendered by Operator
Variables
Respondents
Are you satisfied with the
services of the collector, if
yes skip
Frequency Percent
Yes
117
30.5
No
267
69.5
Total
384
100.0
if No, will you be willing
to pay for improved service
Frequency Percent
Yes
24
9
No
243
91
Total
267
100.0
Out of 384 respondents, 72.7% believe it is the role of the government to provide a safe
environment for its citizens by providing dumpsters for the citizens as some people are been paid
for the work while 27.3% said it is a good idea. The willingness to pay for is important for delivery
of every social service including waste solid waste collection.
We have issues paying our private service operators as many people been serviced by them
are not paying their fees on time which has left us short changed and unable to pay our
operators. This has also made us to be unable to attract new personnel as others are been
owed.
The study also revealed that the OYWMA has been confronted with logistics problem, inadequate
personnel, and lack of incentives to attract new personnel.
Figure 3
Conclusion
The results of the study reveals that majority of the respondents believe that for us to have an
adequate and effective waste management system in Ibadan the government needs to do its own
part which starts with providing a centralized dumpsters for people to dispose their waste
effectively.
Government
responsibility
73%
Good idea
27%
Government
responsibility
Good idea
22 ILSHS Volume 89
The interviews and observation in this study show that waste is not segregated by households in
Ibadan; yet introducing waste separation would be important to a successful implementation of
other waste management options asides from the current one been used. OYWMA could make
efforts to provide green and red bins to all households for storage of waste separately. Presently, the
current criterion for provision of bins is by purchasing it from private individuals.
Recommendations
1. Provision of dustbins to the community members by the OYWMA which will help in the
proper management of waste at household level and community.
2. Regular inspections of the household should be done by the Public Health Officers to ensure
compliance to sanitation norms and regulations. It is recommended that homes should be
visited at least once a week.
3. Community members have been noticed not to sort their waste because they do not
understand the dynamics involved and are not conscious of the importance. Training should
be organized to bridge the knowledge gap on this.
4. Incentives should be given to community members that sort their waste into recyclables like
recycle points, Pearl recycling and lots more of started. It gives something back to the
community members for taking the effort to sort their waste.
5. There is the need for OYWMA agency to recruit more workers and more sustainable
vehicles needs to be used instead of the usual old trucks been deployed at the moment.
6. The government should provide a level playing grounds for private sectors to thrive in the
waste management business as it can create lots of employment opportunities.
Conflict of Interest
The author declares that there is no conflict of interest
Acknowledgement
The utmost appreciation goes to God almighty for the success of this work. My heartfelt
appreciation goes to everyone that contributed to the success of this work. I am glad to express my
gratitude to Ugue Oluwaseyi and Gbadegesin Tosin. Special thanks to Dr. Temidayo Fawole for her
support during the period of this research.
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