ABSTRACT
The study investigated the generation of the solid waste in Achara
layout and the effects of INTERNET WORK ENGINEERING LTD (a private sector participant
(PSP) engaged by ENSEPA, Enugu in solid waste collection, transportation and
disposal for Achara layout area of Enugu city. In the course of the study, 100
households in the layout were randomly chosen from the 10 streets that fall
within the randomly sampled blocks when the layout was divided into 100 blocks,
and the solid waste generated by these households was stored into components,
and weighed with a weigh balance graduated in kilogram (kg). Also,
questionnaire surveys were carried out for the households’ studied and informal
interview for the enterprise (PSP) that manages the waste was conducted. Using
correlation analysis, the study established that there is a strong positive
correlation ( = 0.99, p < 0.05) between quantity of solid
waste generated and household size. A high coefficient of determination (98%)
explained the extent to which household size determines the quantity of solid
waste generated. ANOVA revealed that there is no significant difference in mean
solid waste generated by the households between the streets studied. The solid
waste composition analysis revealed that about 70% of the solid waste is
composed of food waste/foliage which are decomposable. The responses on the
questionnaire surveys established that the activities of the PSP involved with
the solid waste collection of the layout are ineffective. Though the
involvement of PSP is a welcome approach in the solid waste management of Enugu
City, it is still rudimentary in developing economies like Nigeria. There is
need for a more pragmatic approach in terms of public awareness and
sensitization; evaluation; monitoring; and enforcement.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Cities historically have been centers of
industry, commerce and magnets for millions of people. As Cities grow ever
larger, they consume more and more natural resources to meet the rising demand
for food, water, energy, goods and services, both from people and industry.
These have made cities to have a huge impact on the natural environment. One of
the most evident is the proliferation of solid wastes. Government is concerned
about the increasing costs of managing these solid wastes and maintaining the
quality of the environment.
Solid waste has been defined by
tchobanoglous et al (1977), as all the wastes arising from human and animal
activities that are normally solid and that are discarded as useless or
unwanted. Okonkwo and Eboatu (1999) classified solid waste according to source.
i.
Domestic or Residential waste generated from
household preparations such as cooking and serving of food.
ii.
Municipal (both residential and commercial)
waste generated from households, offices, hotels, markets, hospitals and
schools such as cardboard, plastics, glass, paper etc.
iii.
Industrial waste generated from construction,
tanneries, fabrication, breweries, etc such as metal scraps, hop residues etc.
iv.
Agricultural waste emanating from the farm
activities such as slaughter house residues, paddy husks, cassava stalks, corn
residues, millet residues etc.
v.
Hazardous waste from nuclear power plants,
laboratories, hospitals, pharmaceuticals, etc such as heavy metals, hypodermic
needles, bandages,
out dated drugs etc.
For the
purposes of this study, residential solid waste is chosen.
These
wastes can be categorized into two:
i.
Decomposable such as food wastes – animal,
fruit, or vegetable residues.
ii.
Non-decomposable such as tin cans, glass,
aluminum cans, plastics, dirt etc.
Cities of most developing economies need to
take steps to solve this increasing menace of solid wastes. This can be
achieved through a sustainable solid waste management programme. Solid waste management has been
defined by Tchobanoglous et al (1977) as that discipline associated with the
control of generation, storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing
and disposal of solid wastes in a manner that is in accord with the best
principles of public health, economics, engineering, conservation, aesthetics
and other environmental considerations, that is also responsible to public
attitudes.
Achara layout area grew more rapidly in
residence than some other areas of Southern part of Enugu City. The buildings
are mostly block of flats. The elevated, open-sided dumps built in a number of
locations in this area have been demolished and replaced with large bins and
skips by Enugu State Environmental Protection Agency (ENSEPA) at strategic
locations in the area. This brought about frequent overflowing of dumps unto
the streets due to irregular evacuation from dumpsites to landfills. These
large bins and skips soon disappeared, hence many “illegal” dumpsites developed
along the street in the Layout.
In an attempt to solve the intractable
problem of solid waste in Enugu City, ENSEPA recently involved INTERNET WORK
ENGINEERING LTD under their Private Sector Participants (PSP) in solid waste management. They are to
assist the agency in solid waste collection, transportation and disposal in
Achara Layout Area. The operation of this PSP in Achara layout area involves
the use of open tippers. Their mode of operation involves the ringing of a bell
as a signal to the residents to come and throw in their wastes. This continues
as the tipper moves from street to street to collect the solid waste generated.
There is no definite time and day for their operation from observations. Thus,
residents dump their solid wastes along the streets of Achara layout. These
have presented an unwholesome environment that is aesthetically ugly.
1.1 BACKGROUND
TO THE STUDY PROBLEM
Cities have a huge impact on the natural
environment. As cities grow larger, they consume more food, water, energy and
goods and services both from people and industry. So as cities continue to
attract more people and produce and consume more, more wastes are generated. How
to manage these wastes have called for social revolution by individuals,
corporate bodies, social organizations, clubs and governments and so on.
The World Environment
Day, 5th June each year, declared by the United Nations General
Assembly at a meeting in Stockholm, in 1972 was meant to be observed by all
Nations. This world body recognized the fundamental right of man to live in an
environment worthy of his dignity and well-being.
The UN Environmental Day celebration
therefore was aimed at creating awareness in the peoples of the world of all
races, the need for clean, healthy, comfortable and a safe environment.
In developing economies, alarmed by massive
population growth, worsening living conditions, inadequate provision of
utilities and infrastructures and general environmental degradation, there is
worry that cities have become unmanageable. In Nigerian cities, governments
have adopted many approaches to solid waste management, but still face
unprecedented challenges. People are more optimistic, observing that with good
management of these wastes, cities can grow even larger without ruining their
surroundings and making residents worse-off.
Achara Layout is fast losing its aesthetic
beauty. There are no designated dumpsites. To dispose refuse, residents have to
go for some distance to a disposal-point (where there is any). This is not only
inconvenient to residents but also costly, thus they dump the waste any where
found convenient within the neighbourhood; mostly along the streets. In any
event of rainfall, the residents of Achara layout dump their refuse in the
gutters of the streets. These gutters are blocked with solid waste. After each
event of torrential rainfall, most of these wastes litter the roads causing
accidents and traffic hold ups. The stench from the putrescible part of the
wastes pervades the whole area. These call for investigation into the solid
waste management system applied in Achara layout.
1.3 AIM OF
THE STUDY
The ultimate aim of this study is to
investigate the activities of PSP engaged by ENSEPA in solid waste collection,
transportation and disposal in Achara Layout with a view of finding out why
they have not made any appreciable success with regard to managing solid waste in the area;
and to make a sound proposal for better and more effective PSP operation of
solid waste collection, transportation and ultimate disposal in Achara layout
area of Enugu city. To achieve this aim, the following objectives are formulated.
1.4 OBJECTIVES
OF THE STUDY
i.
To find out the percentage composition of solid
waste generated by the household in the study location.
ii.
To find out the quality of slid waste generated
by the households in the study location.
iii.
To investigate the regularity of PSP in solid
waste collection of the study location.
iv.
To create awareness that effective solid waste
management of the study location can only be achieved through the incorporation
of both residents and the PSP concerned.
1.5 RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
The objectives
of this study prompted the researcher to ask the following research questions:
i.
What is the composition of the solid waste
generated?
iii.
Is there any relationship between the quantity
of solid waste generated and household size?
iv.
Is there any significant difference in solid
waste generated between the ten (10) streets studied in the study location?
v.
What mode of operation do the PSP use in
collecting solid waste at the study location?
vi.
What is the operational period of the PSP in
solid waste collection at the study location using this mode of operation?
vii.
How effective is it?
viii.
Should PSP be involved in solid wastes
management? These research questions are addressed by formulating these
research hypotheses:
i.
That there is a significant relationship between
quantity of solid waste generated and household size in the study location.
ii.
That there is no significant difference in the
main solid waste generated by households between the studied streets in the
study location.
iii.
That the activities of PSP involved in the solid
waste collection, transportation and disposal are ineffective.
1.6 CONCEPTUAL
FRAME WORK OF THE STUDY
The issue of solid waste management is a
complex phenomenon. It has been an intractable environmental problem for which
wide scale studies have provided no answers. For effective study of solid waste
management, it is necessary that the individual components of the phenomenon be
properly identified; in this case they include solid waste generation, solid
waste transportation and solid waste disposal (Tchobanoglous, 1977). These
components are interrelated and they also have their distinctive attributes.
For instance in the case of solid waste, type of solid waste generated e.g.
commercial solid waste, residential solid waste, and so on; the income level of
those generating the waste and so on. For a comprehensive study of solid waste
management, the system approach concept is applied. The management of solid
waste could be approached through viewing the entire components of the solid
waste equation as a system that is interrelated or interdependent. In other
words, waste disposal is dependent on waste transported, while waste transferred is dependent
on the waste generated at generation-points, which may be household wastes,
commercial wastes and so on.
Wang and Pereira (1980) suggested that the
key in planning a solid waste collection system is the ability to ask the right
questions. What to collect?, Who will collect it?, Where to collect from?, What
vehicles should be used to transport waste?, How often should waste be
transported from generation – points?, dumpsites are needed and where should
these be located?, What routing, crew size and schedule should be employed?,
how many incinerators, landfills, or other types of disposal sites are needed
and where should they be located?. The question of what geographic area to
cover is usually determined on the basis of existing political jurisdictions.
Answers to these questions are necessary for a holistic management of solid
waste in the area. Hence, output analysis is performed by examining or
measuring the solid waste generated in the Layout by actually separating and
weighing the components of solid waste samples collected. This is likely to
give a micro scale data, which properly depicts the composition
of the solid waste of the Layout so as to have better planning
of solid waste collection system for Achara Layout.
1.7 THE
STUDY AREA
Enugu
city is
located at the North-Eastern
fringes of South Eastern
Nigeria and occupies an area of about 12,000km2. It has previously
served as capital city for the Eastern Region, East Central
State, the Former Anambra State and presently Enugu State
(Fig 1). The topography is undulating with folded hills dotting around
it (Iloeje, 1977) hence the acronym-“Enu Ugwu”, meaning the top
of a hill. It enjoys a tropical climate characterized by two distinct
seasons - rainy and dry.
The town owes its origin and early a coal
mining. Between 1915 and 1920, the city developed as a by-product of coal
mining activities hence the nickname “Coal City”. The coal mining activities
led to the early development of Ogbete layout, Coal Camp which is one of the
oldest planned residential areas built for miners. In 1923, China Town
developed as a special industrial area for Africa Railway Workers and the
European Reservation Area now called Government Reservation Area (GRA).
As Enugu grows in commerce and industry,
attracted earlier by coal mining activities so does it population with the
attendant solid waste problems. This population growth is evident from the
various population
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