ABSTRACT
This study was carried out on the appraisal of the legal framework of waste management in Enugu State. The study employed a doctrinal research design method. Waste is the greatest danger facing humanity today. Therefore, measures must be taken at the national and international levels to control the disposal of such wastes in order to safeguard them and create a safer, healthy and good environment. Because of the detrimental effect of waste on humans and the environment, legal mechanisms must be put in place to take the environment into account. Constitutionally, the issue of drafting laws to meet the legal and institutional framework for waste management in Nigeria falls under a competing legislative list empowering both federal and state governments to legislate on this subject. The research discussed the conceptual clarification of key terms and also provided an analysis of the legal framework for waste management. The work also examined the institutions responsible for waste management in Enugu State. So many problems associated with institutions have been critically analyzed and their perspectives have been painstakingly highlighted. The scope of the research was largely the basic laws relating to environmental issues affecting waste management in Enugu State. At the end of the work, findings on the relationship with waste management in Enugu State were established. The research finally provides some recommendations for achieving the desired goal of a safer, healthier and better environment.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1Background of the study
Wastes may be toxic, flammable or non-biodegradable. Solid wastes, like leaves, bones, cotton rages and various food items, are quite biodegradable and are thus taken care of by nature[1]. Other wastes are more of a nuisance than danger to man. If adequate provision is not made for waste disposal, the physical environment soon deteriorates, particularly in urban areas. The contribution of solid waste to environmental deterioration is an essential part of environmental hygiene studies, which needs to be integrated into the overall environmental planning process. Eneh[2] posited that the need to control those factors in man’s physical environment, which exercise a deleterious effect on his physical development, health and survival, necessitates waste management, which involves the collection, sorting, storage, transportation, treatment, disposal and recycling of wastes. Waste management is the organized and systematic channeling of waste through pathways to ensure that they are disposed of with attention to acceptable public health and environmental safeguards. The management problems of solid waste in Nigeria is quite enormous due to the fact that the rate of generation is high while the mode of collection and disposal is abysimally rudimentary. This partly accounts for the indiscriminate heaps of solid waste that characterize the nook and cranny of almost all the Nigerian cities. According to Mba[3], concern for wastes disposal.
