Assessment of Challenges Facing Solid Waste Management in Maisandari Neighbourhood of Maiduguri Metropolis, Borno State, Nigeria
- August 10, 2018
- Posted by: RSIS
- Category: Geography
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume II, Issue VII, July 2018 | ISSN 2454–6186
Alhaji Mukhtar1 and Joseph C. Akan (Ph.D) 2
1Department of Geography, University of Maiduguri, Nigeria
2Department of Chemistry, University of Maiduguri, Nigeria
Corresponding Author: Alhaji Mukhtar
Abstract: – This study examined the significant causal factors of the challenges the Borno State Environmental Protection Agency (BOSEPA) faces in managing solid waste in the Maisandari neighbourhood in Maiduguri metropolis. The research was motivated by reconnaissance survey to such location which posited that BOSEPA has been unable to evacuate the waste generated on daily basis. This study assessed the key problems BOSEPA faces in managing waste in the neighbourhood. Seventy five residents who have lived in the neighbourhood for at least six years were purposively sampled and interviewed. Officials of BOSEPA were given a questionnaire the information from which was used to validate the data collected from the sampled residents. The data generated from the residents were processed by a Binary Logistic Regression method of estimation. The results revealed that five factors account for the challenge in managing solid waste in the area. The first challenge facing solid waste management is that the residents have a very poor environmental awareness. They do not observe the mandatory monthly Sanitation Day slated for the last Saturday of every month which is meant to tidy the area. Secondly, BOSEPA is inadequately funded by the Borno State Government (Ministry of Environment) thus crippling its capabilities. Thirdly, there is the problem of non-participatory involvement by the community in the planning and execution of policies on waste management. Fourthly, most people do not recycle the waste generated. Moreover, the residents do not sort their solid waste but simply deposit them at dumpsites. Consequently, much solid waste is generated within a short time after BOSEPA’s last collection. Lastly, UNEP (2005) recommendations for managing solid wastes in developing countries are suggested as a way out and there should be a conscious and sustained effort to: abandon the present Top-Down approach to waste management and adopt a Bottom-Up alternative so as to make waste management community-based and sustainable; to either prevent the production of waste or reduce the amount generated per time period; the volume of waste prior to disposal must be reduced; material must be recovered for use as direct or indirect inputs to new products; solid waste must be disposed in an environmentally sound manner in landfills.
Key words: Solid waste; Neighbourhood; Logistic Regression; BOSEPA
