ABSTRACT
This research was conducted on “Assessment of Solid Waste Disposal Practices in Majidadi ‘B’ ward in the Bauchi metropolis” aimed at assessing the nature and the methods used by the users of the area, which was first carried out through survey with the use of structured questionnaires to some persons chosen from the study area. The set objectives were to identify the structure of solid waste disposal in Majidadi ‘B’, examine the coordination of the solid waste disposal in the district, examine the sustainability of the process of solid waste disposal from generation to disposal and to identify the role of scavengers in solid waste disposal in Majidadi ‘B’. These were carried out by administration of questionnaires to the residents and waste managers. The sociode mographic characteristics in the study revealed that women are mostly involved in domestic solid waste disposal than men and that Majidadi ‘B’ is inhabited mostly by high income earners hence an average house size of 4-10 persons. The study reveals the heterogeneous nature of solid waste composition in the area which may require sorting for effective recycling process. Among the various methods of municipal solid waste collection, collection of waste by the waste managers has the highest proportion in the study area, different times of solid waste collection was reported ranging daily, twice or thrice in a week depending on when the waste managers come. However, the residents adjudged the services (collection and disposal) of the solid waste managers as satisfactory and that their charges for collection of waste were moderate. Among the problems of domestic solid waste as perceived by the respondents in the study area was poor sanitary habits of residents, and poor attitude towards payment of waste are the major problem of solid waste disposal. The BEPB should device other means to ensure residents comply with payment for their waste since this happened to be a major challenge that affect them. They can liaise with other government agencies like First Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) since they use pay as you go/use. Other agencies like banks can be of good help to ease payment.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Human society makes a living by extracting environmental resources for food, shelter, and clothing, using tools he conceives, fabricates and develops over time. His ingenuity at making tools perfects his power to obtain and utilize the available resources sometimes with impunity. Such technological sophistication termed civilization facilitates faster acquisition and utilization of environmental resources. The consumption of these resources tends to generate waste or unwanted materials that must be discarded. These wastes vary from gaseous, liquid and solid substances, generated as a result of human activities (Peter, Karl, and Jurg, 1996). According to Ezema (2009), wastes are useless, unwanted and discarded materials. Douglas (2004) corroborates Ezema‟s stance and argues that waste is material which arises from animal and human life and activities and is discarded as useless and unwanted items. Solid waste can also be referred to as wastes from households, municipal services, construction debris and agricultural activities (Amalu and Ajake, 2019). Odacha (1994) considered wastes as material which though may no longer be needed here become feed stock or materials elsewhere. In fact, he defines waste as those materials which are generated as a result of normal operations over which we have control in terms of their production, disposal, and discharge. Human society at every stage of civilization generates wastes, however, the rate of generation and methods of disposal vary from the individual to nation depending on the level of the technological development. One of the challenges of the 21st century is how to achieve cost-effective and environmentally sound strategies to deal with the global waste crisis confronting humanity in both developed and developing countries. The crisis has threatened the carrying capacity of the life support systems. Waste generation and disposal has in time past caused environmental pollution with disastrous health consequences (Ayuba, 2005). Srinivas (2002) reported that at least 60% of the countries that submitted the national report to the United Nations in advance of the 1992 UN Earth Summit said that solid waste disposal was among their biggest environmental concern, while the United Nation Centre for Human Settlement report that only between 25% and 55% of all waste generated in large cities are collected by municipal authorities.
