Assessment of Solid Waste Management in Lokoja, Nigeria

Urbanization has constituted a great environmental challenge to human existence in all countries of the world. The situation in urban centers of developing economies is more serious and has become unbearable because the access to basic necessities, such as portable water and functional health facilities, is very poor. To worsen the matter, in some of these cities, there is a delayed and uncoordinated waste disposal system which makes many people vulnerable to the outbreak of diseases. It is against this background that the present study is designed to assess the waste management system in the rapidly developing city of Lokoja which is located in the north central part of Nigeria. Basically, primary sources of data were employed in this research to collate information about waste disposal and its health implications on the inhabitants of the city. An average of forty structured questionnaires was distributed to the heads of households in each of the three residential densities identified in Lokoja on how the waste is managed in the city. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyze the data collected. The findings revealed that 64.6% of residents in Lokoja burn the waste generated in their household; 20.8% dump their waste along the roadsides for public waste disposal vehicles to collect and dispose of them at the approved waste disposal site located in the city suburb. Approximately, 16.8% of the residents who live close to the trenches of streams and erosion channels dispose their waste in the water bodies for onward transmission to bigger water bodies like Meme River and the River Niger. This impedes the free flow of drainage water and consequently results in the flooding of the roads especially during heavy down pour in the Metropolis. The nonchalant attitude of people towards better waste management has therefore resulted in various forms of pollution including air and water pollution which is inimical to human health. The present study concludes that there is need for public enlightenment and campaign on modern methods of waste management in Lokoja and other cities in Nigeria.