Urban Solid

7/29/2019 Urban Solid

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Urban solid waste generation inPort Harcourt metropolis and its

implications for wastemanagement

D.N. OgbonnaDepartment of Applied and Environmental Biology,

Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

G.T. AmangabaraOffice of the Shell Professorial Chair on Environmental Studies,

Institute of Pollution Studies, Rivers State University of Science and Technology,

Port Harcourt, Nigeria, andT.O. Ekere

Department of Environmental Health, Shell Petroleum Development Company,Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of rapid population growth due touncontrolled and unplanned urbanization as it affects environmental degradation through solid wastegeneration in Port Harcourt Metropolis, which has brought about the problem of solid wastemanagement to city authorities and state government

Design/methodology/approach The study involved the administration of questionnaires to 76different households with a total population of 393 persons giving an average size of 7 persons perhousehold. Also, formal interviews with officials of relevant government departments as wells asprivate stakeholders in urban solid waste management were conducted. The questionnaires weredesigned to elicit information on the characteristics of the respondents and waste generation capacityas well as disposal methods. The data abstracted from the questionnaires were analysed using themultiple linear regression to test for the significant differences. The study period was between January1999 to December 1999

Findings A total of 207.3 tonnes of solid waste was generated giving per capita annual wastegeneration rate of 0.53 tonnes equivalent to a waste generator rate of 1.45 kg of waste per capita daily.Analysis of solid waste composition was by land use types. The study showed that cartoons accountedfor 16.1 percent, while papers and food remnants had 14.4 percent and 26.6 percent of total wastegenerated respectively.

Practical implications Assist city dwellers tackle the problem posed by urban waste throughprovision of adequate infrastructure and social services.

Originality/value The paper suggests continuous enlightenment programmes as well asemployment of good technical services in the management of solid waste rather than the use ofpolitical will to tackle the problems. This work is original, as no such analysis has been carried out inPort Harcourt metropolis. The paper has provided data and knowledge upon which further researchcan be carried out.

Keywords Waste handling, Waste management, Waste disposal, Urban areas, Nigeria

Paper type General review

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

www.emeraldinsight.com/1477-7835.htm

Urban solidwaste generationin Port Harcourt

71

Management of Environmental

Quality: An International Journal

Vol. 18 No. 1, 2007

pp. 71-88

q Emerald Group Publishing Limited

1477-7835

DOI 10.1108/14777830710717730
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/1477-7835.htmhttp://www.emeraldinsight.com/1477-7835.htm


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IntroductionOne major problem of urbanisation is solid waste generation. This problem has becomemore severe over the last ten years (Onibokun, 1989). Because of the increasingpopulation and the increasing waste generation rates due to increased consumption of

a range of products and its associated packaging, heaps of MSW along major roads,stream channels, riverbanks and in open spaces are very common in Nigeria (Ogbonnaet al., 2002). In recognition of the monumental challenges of MSW management,Governments in Nigeria have attempted to tackle waste management issues throughthe task force approach. This approach involves:

. the designation of solid waste collection centres on major roads and publicmarkets; and

. the use of local contractors/agencies to evacuate the waste generated.

The City is usually demarcated into several zones for each local contractor. However,This approach has been found to be counter productive in the long run as it has created

more problems due to lack of coordination on the part of the Government andinadequate solid waste management knowledge of the responsible agencies. Solidwaste dumped along roadsides are usually left over a long time to decompose naturally(by micro organisms), eaten by animals, picked by scavengers or washed away by thefloods into the larger creek and rivers thus affecting the surface water quality (Nweke,2000).

In addition to the degradation of the physical environment, this condition impactsthe natural environment aesthetically and health wise. They harbour flies, fleas,mosquitoes, rats and other disease vectors, which could cause several diseases such asLassa fever, malaria, filariasis, yellow fever (Ekugo, 1998). The constant presence oflitter may be psychologically depressing to a city dweller and clearly stands in way of

tourism development. Also, uncollected litters can also in effect attract more littersperpetuating poor solid waste management practices. As a result, there isunsustainable and wasteful utilization of resources which give rise to pollution ofrivers and lakes resulting in extensive fish kills and destruction of other forms ofaquatic life due to increased organic load and the concomitant depletion of dissolvedoxygen in the water (Sundaresan, 1977; Ajiwe et al., 2000; Phiri et al., 2005; Emongoret al., 2005.)

Lack of adequate data on solid waste generation has resulted in ineffective planningfor solid waste management (PAI Associates, 1982; Onokerhoraye, 1985). This hasgreatly contributed to indiscriminate dumping of wastes on the roads, stream channels,bush lands and open spaces (Sule, 1982; Adedibu, 1983; Ayoade, 1983; Folarin, 1995;Ibitoye, 1995; Ogbonna et al., 2002, Ekere, 2003), thus defacing the landscape of the city,

causing flooding and spread of vector borne diseases.Previously, Nigerian government made use of sanitary inspectors or public health

workers to monitor waste generation and management. This method for sometime nowhas not been operational and the issue of sanitation in the cities has been left toinexperienced contractors who rather see solid waste management simply as movingfrom one dump point to another. This paper therefore highlights the solid wastegeneration rate; pattern and possible management strategies, which is sustainable forthe inhabitants of Port Harcourt metropolis.

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Solid waste generation and characteristicsStudies have shown that solid waste characteristics in Nigeria are similar to those ofother third world countries (Pickford, 1983; Chefetz et al., 1996). Nwankwo (1994)classified solid waste in Nigeria into three basic categories, namely:

(1) Residential which include commercial, homes, stores, hotels and restaurants.

(2) Municipal which include streets, sidewalk and alleys.

(3) Industrial which include factories, power plants, construction sites, sewagetreatment plants, septic tanks and vacant plots. He noted that municipal orurban solid waste comprised of 55 percent paper, 21 percent food waste,7 percent glass, 4 percent wood, 5 percent residence wastes, 5 percent plasticand 3 percent others.

Generally, waste of all forms are primarily the creation of normal human living, it is tobe expected that the more people living in a particular physical space, the more acutewill be the problem of waste. Population therefore constitutes a vital component of

urban solid waste management and disposal. The 1991 base population census figurefor Port Harcourt metropolis stood at 653,183, and the nationally adopted averageannual growth rate for rural areas is 2.5 percent and 3.0 percent for urban area (FederalOffice of Statistics, 1991). The current estimated population of Port Harcourt is about1,356,000 (Federal Office of Statistics, 2003) with an estimated municipal solid waste(category 1-3 above) generated as around 1,393,880 kg/day with each of the zones in themetropolis on average generating 199,126 kg/day with approximately1.03 kg/person/day (Ayotamuno and Gobo, 2004) (see Table I).

A joint study by both the Rivers State Ministry of Environment, and Agip OilCompany Limited Port Harcourt, estimated 342,352 metric tons of municipal solidwaste generated in Port Harcourt metropolis in the year 2001 compared to 273,095

metric tons in 2000 representing about 25.4 percent increase in annual wastegeneration rate in the city. Dike (2003) blamed the deplorable state of sanitation in PortHarcourt and its environs on democratic rule. Politicians in order to do away withevery structure put in place by the Military abolished the monthly environmentalsanitation exercise, which was effective for over ten years. People lost consciousness to

CityEstimated 1994

population

Estimated annualmunicipal solid waste

generated (tonnes)

Waste generated perhead per year(t/person/year)

Aba 539,973 113,300 0.21Abeokuta 409,601 73,386 0.179

Benin City 853,394 32,327 0.037Enugu 538,379 78,603 0.146Ibadan 1,335,935 733,542 0.550

Jos 680,630 33,977 0.50Kano 948,381 72,066 0.076Lagos 5,748,587 2,937,687.5 0.5110Port Harcourt 705,774 285,466 0.404

Source: Enugu State Environmental Sanitation Authority (1994)

Table I.Waste generated per head

per year for selectedNigerian cities


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take appropriate care of their immediate environment but rather relapsed into the oldways of indiscriminate dumping of these solid wastes and utter neglect of theirimmediate environment.

Area of study: Port HarcourtPort Harcourt is situated within the Niger Delta region at the southernmost part ofNigeria and it is bound by longitude 68560 to 78070E and latitude 48440 to 48520N of theEquator (Figure 1). It has a plain topography and about 5 m above sea level. This plainis well drained and provides several connections with the sea (Gulf of Guinea) by alarge number of creeks and channels. Five streams drain the Port Harcourt Metropolisconnecting to the several Creeks that leads to the Sea.

Port Harcourt climate falls within the sub equatorial climate belt. Temperature andhumidity are high throughout the year. The area is marked by two distinct seasons the wet and the dry seasons with 70 percent of the annual rains falling between Apriland August, while 22 percent is spread in the three months of September to November.

The driest months are from December to March (Gobo, 1998; Ayotamuno et al., 2000)with humidity oscillating between 80 percent and 90 percent.The soil type consists mainly of poorly drained silt clays mixed with sand, which is

geologically classified under the Benin formation. Established in 1912;administratively it is made up of two local government Authorities The PortHarcourt City Local Government and Obio/Akpor Local Government Councils. PortHarcourt, the Capital City/Seat of Government of Rivers State is also the hub of the oiland Gas industry in Nigeria. The activities of these oil companies generate solid, liquidand gaseous waste such as drill cuttings, fluids, lube oil, paper printer cartridges, foodwaste, batteries, tyres, associated gas, scrap metals, produced water etc.

Solid waste management infrastructure

Port Harcourt at its establishment was 30,000 acres (315 km2

) but it has since expandednorthward to about 470 km. Its development has mainly been determined by its originas a port situated on a narrow peninsular and surrounded by many native villages. Theold Port Harcourt Township was laid out with a proper town plan and basicinfrastructure such as well-paved roads good drainage network markets and wastedisposal centres. But due to rapid growth in population from the 1950s following the oilboom, uncontrolled development began to take place as many native villages graduallydevelop into suburban residential areas with no proper government control. At presentPort Harcourt is characterised by a rapid population increase severe housing shortageand unplanned roads networks etc.

The management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) has traditionally been theexclusive responsibility of the local or municipal governments. The City Council (Port

Harcourt City Council), have historically been responsible for managing MSWgenerated within the Port Harcourt Metropolis (The current Obio/Akpor and PortHarcourt City Local Government Areas.) However, in 1986 the Rivers StateEnvironmental Sanitation edict was enacted and from about 1989 in line withagenda 21 which emphasizes the need for all countries to maintain the quality of theEarths environment and especially achieve environmentally-sound and sustainabledevelopment that the Rivers State Government promulgated the Rivers State RefuseCollection and Disposal Law of 1991 as well as the Rivers State Environmental

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Figure 1.Map of Port Harcourt

metropolis


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Protection Agency Law of 1991 giving power to the State government to createparticular parastatals to manage MSW thus eroding the traditional functions of localgovernment councils in conflict with paragraph (h) of the fourth schedule of theNigerian 1999 constitution which maintains the status quo of management of MSW to

local government authorities.The Rivers State Environmental Sanitation Authority (RSESA), a parasatal under

the Rivers State Ministry of Environment was established by edict to manage the Solidwaste generated with the metropolis and its environs. One of the major works ofRSESA is to supervise the contractors appointed by the State Government to collectand dispose off municipal solid waste. The Government provide places and/or largebins at market places and at street corners and road junctions for residents to dumptheir household wastes. The solid waste disposal contractors then evacuate thesewastes by method described by Ayotamuno and Gobo (2004)

Methodology

Direct measurements, formal interview with officials of relevant governmentdepartments as well as some private companies charged with the task of refusecollection as well as the administration of questionnaire was employed. Questionnaireswere designed to collect information on the characteristics of the respondents and theirwaste generative capacities. In addition, the questionnaire included:

. land use categorization;

. functional use of house;

. size of household;

. occupation of respondents;

. availability of waste containers;

. distance of house to the nearest refuse dump;

. collection rate of refuse; and

. level of sanitary condition.

The waste generated by each household was determined by measurement of wastesgenerated. Waste was sorted out into types (nylon, textile, glasses, bottles, tins, cans,waste food, wood, papers, and other wastes) and the weight of each type wasdetermined (Environmental Protection Agency, 1976; Ramastry, 1985; Olorunfemi andOdita, 1998).

Design of sample frameOne of the steps taken to design the sample frame for the survey was to demarcate the

whole building into wards (Table II). In the second step of the survey, the number ofresidential dwellings in each of the wards demarcated was obtained so as to provide arough guide to the density of population within each of them. On the whole a totalnumber of 61,029 dwelling houses were identified using Obio/Akpor Section of the PortHarcourt Metropolis. Using the 1999 population projection of Obio/Akpor Area, that is419,560, it gives an average of 7 persons per household. The population in each of thewards was estimated by counting the average number of houses in each ward andmultiplying this by average number of persons in each household (Ayotamuno, 1997).

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On the basis of the final selection of sample population, the following steps were taken:

. serial numbering of the entire road and street beginning from zero upwards;

. serial numbering of all dwelling houses in sampled streets beginning from Oupwards;

. using a table of random numbers to select sampled streets; and

.

the use of a table of random numbers to select sampled households.

From a five-figure table of random numbers (Neave, 1978) and reading horizontally, thefirst two digits indicate the street number while the last three digits indicate the housenumber. However, where the rest three numbers are not within the range of the numberof houses recorded for the street, the next three numbers in the table thereafter becomesthe house to be sampled (Table III).

Although the sampling frame enabled clusters of dwelling units enclosed by thegrid squares to be sampled in questionnaire administration, individuals were requiredto be respondents. It became necessary that the household which represents anumber of people living together would be the convenient smallest unit of thepopulation that would generate solid waste or house hold waste. The household is also

a convenient economic unit of administration. In each of the residential areas/housesselected for the questionnaire survey, all the households were surveyed but only thehousehold head was interviewed.

Cadwell and Okonjo (1968) stated that household is bound together not merely bysocial ties but by economic forces. The household was chosen as a convenient sampleunit of production and consumption of goods and services. Therefore, in this study, thelinkage with household is that the household unit provides the relevant data to theassessment of refuse generation and management.

Serial No. Number of Wards Number of building identification

1 One 3,0122 Two A 2,798

3 Two B 3,0494 Three A 4,4945 Three B 4,2466 Four A 3,9877 Four B 4,9198 Five 3,1939 Six A 2,688

10 Six B 3,21611 Seven A 3,14512 Seven B 2,56613 Eight A 3,87514 Eight B 3,97915 Nine 5,942

16 Ten 2,91817 Eleven 3,002Total 61,029

Table II.Number of residentialbuildings by Wards


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Serial

No.

Nameofsampled

roads/streets

No.of

residential

buildings

identified

Street

numbero

f

sampled

house

No.of

householdsin

thebuilding

Sizeof

households

surveyed(X)

Annualrefuse

generation

(tonnes)(Y)

Percapitaannual

refusegeneration

(tonnes)

Per

capitadaily

refuse

generation(kg)

1

IkwerreRoad

1,599

465

2

12

5.6

0.47

1.3

2

Okpowu-Obasi

46

010

1

7

2.7

0.39

1.1

3

WorluStreet

34

013

2

5

2.0

0.40

1.1

4

OmachiStreet

182

027

3

8

4.1

0.51

1.4

5

EligboloRoad

1,306

266

1

11

5.3

0.48

1.3

6

RumuagholuRoad

513

159

2

9

4.5

0.50

1.4

7

OvunwoStreet

67

005

1

7

3.0

0.43

1.2

8

NwachukwuStreet

102

019

1

10

4.9

0.49

1.3

9

WorluEgumaStr

eet

88

015

3

8

3.0

0.38

1.0

10

DavidEjekwuStreet

52

020

1

6

2.8

0.47

1.3

11

ChindaStreet

74

033

2

9

4.3

0.48

1.3

12

Rumuomoi/Orosi

Road

812

115

1

11

5.1

0.46

1.3

13

OwhorStreet

115

032

2

7

2.8

0.40

1.1

14

ObiWaliRoad

205

108

2

6

2.0

0.33

0.9

15

KesioluStreet

98

016

1

9

4.1

0.46

1.3

16

Mgbouba-ChobaRoad

1,122

305

2

7

2.5

0.36

1.0

17

EhioStreet

48

008

3

5

2.0

0.40

1.1

18

OgbogoroRoad

480

099

1

12

5.8

0.48

1.3

19

KalaStreet

65

017

1

10

5.2

0.52

1.4

20

EbaraStreet

230

049

1

9

5.0

0.56

1.5

21

OraziRoad

103

051

2

7

2.3

0.33

0.9

22

EligbamRoad

114

063

1

8

2.9

0.36

1.0

23

RumuolaRoad

1,106

253

2

10

4.7

0.47

1.3

24

MbarajahStreet

79

021

2

12

5.5

0.46

1.3

25

PHC-AbaExpressRoad

380

378

1

9

4.0

0.44

1.2

26

ArochukwuStreet

413

092

2

11

5.6

0.51

1.4

27

UyoStreet

271

036

4

8

2.7

0.34

0.9

28

MarketRoad

382

119

1

10

5.3

0.53

1.5

29

BendeStreet

253

101

2

9

4.2

0.47

1.3

(continued)

Table III.Sampled streets andhouseholds surveyed

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Serial

No.

Nameofsampled

roads/streets

No.of

residential

buildings

identified

Street

numbero

f

sampled

house

No.of

householdsin

thebuilding

Sizeof

households

surveyed(X)

Annualrefuse

generation

(tonnes)(Y)

Percapitaannual

refusegeneration

(tonnes)

Per

capitadaily

refuse

generation(kg)

30

GeodeticStreet

190

052

1

7

2.4

0.34

0.9

31

WoparaStreet

101

014

1

6

2.1

0.35

1.0

32

EkereStreet

78

018

2

5

2.2

0.44

1.2

33

EnuguStreet

64

003

1

8

2.5

0.31

0.8

34

WojiRoad

1,262

367

2

10

5.1

0.51

1.4

35

ObadiahStreet

92

030

2

9

3.9

0.43

1.2

36

ElitorStreet

99

007

1

11

5.0

0.45

1.2

37

IhunwoStreet

72

012

2

8

3.8

0.48

1.3

38

PeaceCrescent

39

009

1

6

2.6

0.43

1.2

39

UnityAvenue

61

001

1

5

2.1

0.42

1.2

40

RumuibekweRoa

d

529

118

2

10

5.0

0.50

1.4

41

OldAbaRoad

767

201

1

12

5.7

0.47

1.3

42

OkporoRumuodaraRoad

921

204

3

9

4.0

0.44

1.2

43

ElelenwoRoad

1,022

318

1

11

5.2

0.47

1.3

44

Rumuokwurusi-Ig

wuruta

Road

1,103

476

2

10

4.8

0.48

1.3

45

OroigweRoad

327

086

1

8

3.6

0.45

1.2

46

Eneka-Rukpokwu

Road

106

011

2

6

2.4

0.40

1.1

Total

17,1

72

4,822

76

393

176.3

20.2

5

55.6

Table III.


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Effect of population on generation rateIn determining the rate of population growth in Obio/Akpor Area for example, thenatural growth equation or the exponential population projection model (Toyne andNewby, 1971) can be expressed thus:

Pi Pol rn

where:

Pi population of the city at future date

Po the present population

n the number of years between the present and the future date.

To facilitate the possible use of this equation, the estimated growth of Nigerian ruraland urban population has been put at 2.5 and 3.5 percent per annum respectively.While Port Harcourt metropolis assumed the growth rate of 3.1 percent; this can be

applied to the 1999-projected population figure for Obio/Akpor (328,643) to obtain thefuture population size.Also from the household population survey the study revealed that the population

estimate for the year 1999 was 419,560. Figures 2-4 present a result using theregression analysis in deriving this equation thus:

Y b0 b1X e

where:

Y household waste generation rate (independent variable)

b0 constant or an intercept

Figure 2.Normal P-P plot ofregression standardizedresiduals of annual wastegeneration in PortHarcourt

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Figure 3.Scatter plot of studentized

deleted residuals versusstandardized

Figure 4.Scatter plot of regression

standardized predictedvalues


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b1 slope of the regression line

X explanatory variable (Household size)

E error term

However, the survey covered 76 households with a total household population of 393persons giving an average household size of about seven persons per household. Thestudy also revealed that within the period of study (January-December) a total of 207.3tonnes of waste was generated giving a per capita annual waste generation rate of 0.53tonnes, equivalent to a waste generation rate of about 1.45 kg of waste per capita daily.

The model summary of the linear regression of waste generation rate (dependentvariable) against the household size (predictor variable) reveals a relationship betweenthe dependent and predictor variables with an R-value of 0.950 and a coefficient ofdetermination (R2) of 90.3 percent. This shows that the proportion of the totalvariability in the waste generation rate accounted for by the household size is 90.3percent, a figure that is quite high.

The estimates of the model coefficients B0 (intercept) and B1 (slope) are respectively21.149 and 0.583. So the estimate model for annual waste generation rate in PortHarcourt metropolis is:

Annual waste generation rate 21:149 0:583 household population:

Several plots were used to evaluate the fit of the model: a normal probability plot of thestandardized residual, the scatter plot of the studentized residuals against predictedvalues, and predicted values against the observed values of the independent variables.(Figures 2-4)

Waste composition by land use types

The problem of MSW is primarily an urban phenomenon. Rapid urbanisation andindiscriminate setting up of industries and commercial activities within cities worsensthe problem. It appears that as a city grows in population and physical size, its land usebecomes more complex. And as the land use becomes more complex, so does the solidwaste generated increase in volume and variety (Ayotamuno and Gobo, 2004).However n Port Harcourt a survey of solid waste generated by land use types indicatethat the highest mean generation rates averaging 106,152 tonnes of waste per day in1999 were found in Residential areas. This was followed by the industrial areas with amean of 36,203 tonnes per day per industry while commercial and educational centreshave 20,129 tonnes and 12,377 tonnes per day respectively (Table IV). Statisticallyusing the analysis of variance (ANOVA) techniques this observation is significant at

Types of land use Total waste generated (tones) Total

Residential 106,152 58.1Industrial 36,203 19.8Commercial 20,129 11.0Educational 12,377 6.8Others 7,828 4.3Total 182,684 100

Table IV.Solid waste generationand composition by landuse types in 1999

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1 percent level indicating that there were differences n the mean waste generated bydifferent land use types.

Also, Table V shows the variation in the mean percentage solid waste compositionby weight various land use types.

The variation in the solid waste composition is associated with the taste andconsumption patterns of the people, which in turn depend on the socio economicstatus of the people. For example, cartons accounted for 16.1 percent of total solidwaste. This can be explained by the lack of refuse separation at source, or what isreferred to as resource recovery at source.

The survey took note of increase in volume of waste materials during the months ofOctober to December (festive period) with high percentage of packaging materialsusing cartons and paper. This also applies to paper component with a total of 14.4percent of waste. In the case of food remnants (leaves and food wastes) with 26.6percent, the period of study October coincides with the harvest period, although it maybe considered not to be too high considering the high moisture content of food waste.Others are plastic and polythene 11.7 percent; rags 6.0 percent; tins and metals 14.7

percent; bones 0.5 percent; bottles and glasses 9.6 percent; and ashes and dust 0.4percent of total solid waste. In conclusion, organic wastes predominate in all the landuses except for Industrial land use where scrap metals and tins were the major types.The predominance of cartons as wastes could be explained by the fact that packagingwastes comprise a growing part of MSW in virtually all cities in the world, whetherdeveloping or advanced. Similarly the high proportion of food wastes in this study isdue to lack of food preservation techniques/technology, coupled with regular poweroutage in most Nigerian cities a common occurrence in Port Harcourt as hugequantities of food items are discarded into waste bins due to lack of adequatepreservation methods and spoilage by micro organisms.

DiscussionA typical Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) system in developing countrydisplays an array of problems, including low waste collection coverage and irregularcollection services, as well as improper disposal methods. This ineffectiveness ofcontemporary MSWM practices constitutes a number of health and environmentalproblems. Open spaces, market places and street corners are littered with solid waste.

Mean percentage composition by weightSerial No. Component Res. Com. Ind. Instit. Rec. Total average

1 Leaves 10.4 5.0 3.4 14.7 20.8 10.92 Food items 43.5 6.3 6.8 16.1 5.8 15.7

3 Cartons 8.03 27.0 18.8 14.4 12.5 16.14 Plastic and polythene 4.0 14.0 10.0 15.2 15.4 11.75 Papers 6.2 20.2 18.4 17.2 10.0 14.46 Rags 9.07 3.0 4.6 6.7 6.5 6.07 Tins and metals 6.2 11.2 29.0 9.0 18.1 14.78 Bones 2.3 N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.59 Bottles and glasses 8.2 13.3 9.2 6.7 10.5 9.6

10 Ashes and dust 2.1 N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.4Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Table V.Solid waste composition

by land use types


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Also, in most cases drains are clogged or totally blocked and many compounds arehemmed in by solid waste. This deplorable situation is not unique to Port Harcourt, butalso exists in most African cities. In Accra, Ghana. only 11 percent of the 1.4 millionresidents benefit from home collection (Songsore, 1992), while the remaining 89 percent

dispose of their waste at community dumps, in open spaces, in water bodies, and instorm drainage channels. Kulaba (1989) observes that on average, city authorities inTanzania collect only 24 percent of the refuse; in Kinshasa, Zaire. Mbuyi (1989) pointsout that household waste collection and street clearing are restricted to wealthyneighbourhoods, while in the remaining area household wastes are dumped alongroads, in illegal dumps and in storm water drains or buried in burrow pits or landfills(Ogbonna, 2004).

In Nigeria, Onibokun (1989) indicates that 35 percent of Ibadans households,28 percent of Port Harcourts, 33 percent of Kadunas, and 44 percent of Enugus do nothave access to waste collection, and sixteen years after the situation has not improved(Ayotamuno and Gobo, 2004). When waste is not collected, unsanitary conditionsdevelop and pose environmental and human health risks. Through indiscriminatedumping of refuse by the public, some urban drainage systems/channels are beingblocked with the refuse and this practice could lead to surface and ground watercontamination. (Olayinka, 2004). Outside of the government quarters, such as the GRA(phases 1-4), Port Harcourt has no good sewerage system. The condition of openchannel drains and sewers in Port Harcourt, in terms of their hydraulic capacity andefficiency is very low, especially in the high density areas of Diobu; drainage channelsin these areas are always silted or filled with solid waste at all times of the year. Duringthe monthly sanitation exercise, some effort is expended in removing sediment fromthe drains, but this does not help the situation. The underground system which startedin the early 1980s is now completely silted and non-functional. Section of the Aba Roaddrainage system is also silted resulting in flooding of portions of the road after a heavy

storm. Siltation or sedimentation is therefore a major problem that must be tackled inorder to improve the drainage facilities in the metropolis.

In this study, it is estimated that the magnitude of solid waste within the majorstreets of the city such as Ikwerre road, Eliogbolo road, Rumuomoi, Rumuomasi, andOld Aba roads stands at an average of 5.5 tonnes per household. The uncontrolleddisposal of solid waste into open gutters, open spaces, along roads, etc. block drainagesystems retaining stagnant water which produces bad odour, breed mosquitoes andsometimes obstruct the movement of people and goods. The prevalence of parasites,tetanus, malaria, hookworm, cholera and diarrhoea in most African cities especially inNigeria, is attributed to the unsanitary conditions in these cities (Stephens andHarpham, 1992; Ekugo, 1998; Ogbonna et al., 2002). Songsore and McGanahan (1993)revealed that malaria, diarrhoea, intestinal worms and upper respiratory tract

infections were among the most common health problems reported at out- patientfacilities in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, the major health problem is diseaseattributed to poor environmental sanitation, which is exacerbated by ignorance andpoverty (Ababio, 1992). Also in Tanzania, Yhdego and Majura (1988) have reportedthat poor sanitation and improper waste disposal practices result in the spread ofinfections diseases, which are the most frequent causes of morbidity and mortality.

The high rate of population growth and urbanization, together with economicgrowth, not only accelerates consumption rates but it also accelerates the generation of

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waste. In Port Harcourt Nigeria, the amount of waste is rising to levels that are bothdifficult and costly to manage. In addition, lack of management capacity to deal withthe increasing volume of waste and its changing characteristics as a city that host mostof the multinational oil companies in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, is overwhelmed

by overpopulation and economic affluence. Very frightening and perhaps more easilyobservable are the human and environmental poverty, the declining quality of life, andthe untapped wealth of human resources that they represent. Housing and associatedfacilities (water, electricity, etc) are similarly inadequate, such that millions now live insubstandard and subhuman environments, plagued by slums squalor, and similarlyinadequate social amenities, such as schools, and health and recreational facilities. Thegradual decline of social values and the breakdown of family cohesiveness andcommunity spirit have resulted in increased levels of juvenile delinquency and crime.

The provision of infrastructural facilities has declined, and intra city mobility isgreatly hindered by poorly planned and inefficiently managed land use and a sharplyreduced network of roads. These situations account for the high waste generation in

each household whose waste generation annually per capita is estimated at 207.3tonnes for a household of 5.5 persons. Worst still is the fact that the MSW managementinfrastructure which include the allocation of a space to dump MSW that are collectedonce or at most twice a week by manual method as described by Ayotamuno and Gobo(2004) is very inadequate. Furthermore, there is a conflict of MSW managementbetween the various organs of government the State and the respective localgovernment councils/authorities. The situation is made more complex when companieswith no background in MSW management are contracted to evacuate the dumps.

ConclusionAs we all know growth does not appear everywhere at the same time; it manifestsitself in points or poles of growth with variable terminal effects for the economy as awhole (Perroux, 1950; Uchhegbu, 1998). Certain regions of the nation therefore becomebetter favoured than others so that as a consequence there was tremendous urbangrowth with a shift in development from the rural to urban areas. This growth inpopulation has given rise to the rising mountains of garbage, which now characterisemost urban cities. In the case of refuse its collection and disposal have become the mostglaring problem in our areas, which have defied solution by both military and civilianadministrators in Nigeria. However the volume of waste generated by the populace inany city town or village is directly related to the population density. (Falomo, 1995) Forefficiency in the conversion of waste to wealth we recommend the privatisation of solid

waste services. This method has proved more efficient in advanced and developedcountries. Alongside privatisation, the principle of pay as you generate needs to beadopted so as to make the public mentally and financially committed to themaintenance of a clean and healthy environment.

More resources should be mobilized and channelled towards the public recyclingand re-use of recyclable waste items. This means that the public will need to beeducated to separate wastes into their various components right from the points ofgeneration.


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Further reading

Adedibu, A.A. and Okenkuule, A.A. (1989), Issues on the environmental sanitation of Lagos

mainland Nigeria, The Environmentalist, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 91-100.Anon (1985), MPhil marine biology programme: introduction, in Oduro, K.A. (Ed.), Handbook

of Undergraduate and Postgraduate Programmes, Rivers State University of Science andTechnology, Port Harcourt, pp 71-3.

Enugu State (1994), Enugu State Enugu State Environmental Sanitation Edict, GovernmentPrinting Press, Enugu.

Koehn, P. (1992), Decentralisation for sustainable development: constraints and opportunities,paper presented at the Economic Commission for Africa Regional Conference onDevelopment Management Africa, Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa,9-13 November.

NEST (1991), Nigerias Threatened Environment: A National Profile, NEST, Ibadan.

Olowu, D. (1981), The administration of social services in Nigeria: the challenge to localgovernments, Local Government Training Programme, University of Ile-Ife, Ile-Ife.

RSMENR/AGIP (2001), Rivers State Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and AGIPOIL Company Limited, Proceedings of the National Workshop on Sustainable

Environmental Practices in Rivers State, Port Harcourt.

Stren, R.E. and White, R.R. (Eds) (1989), Supply, African Cities in Crisis: Managing RapidUrban Growth, Westview Press, Boulder, CO, pp. 149-75.

Stren, R., Halfani, M. and Malombe, J. (1994), Coping with urbanization and urban policy,in Barkan, J.D. (Ed.), Beyond Capitalism vs. Socialism in Kenya and Tanzania, LynneReinner Publishers, Boulder, CO.

Corresponding author

D.N. Ogbonna can be contacted at: [email protected]

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