THE IMPACT OF SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

The problem of solid waste disposal is one of the most serious

environmental problems facing many cities in Nigeria. This research

examines landfill emission and their impact on the environment in Nigeria

and therefore calls for the need to improve on waste management

practices and construct well engineered sanitary landfills to ensure the

protection of human health and the environment. The research aims to

appraise the strategy for effective solid waste land fill management

practice and to determine the management practices of Nigeria for

effective waste management land fill. The findings will also be of great

benefit to the waste management agency in ensuring that the waste are

properly disposed to ensure that it does not constitute a major air pollution

in the society.
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

The Solid wastes comprise all the wastes arising from human and animal

activities that are normally solid, discarded as useless or unwanted. Also

included are by- products of process lines or materials that may be

required by law to be disposed of (Okecha 2000). Solid waste can be

classified in a number of ways, on the basis of sources, environmental

risks, utility and physical property.

On the basis of source, solid wastes are again classified as: Municipal Solid

Wastes, Industrial Solid Wastes and Agricultural Solid Wastes. Nigeria’s

major urban centres are today fighting to clear mounting heaps of solid

waste from their environments. These strategic centres of beauty, peace

and security are being overtaken by the messy nature of over flowing

dumps unattended heaps of solid wastes emanating from household or

domestic or kitchen sources, markets, shopping and business centres. Solid

Waste Landfills.

City officials appear unable to combat unlawful and haphazard dumping of

hazardous commercial and industrial wastes which are a clear violation of

the clean Air and Health Edicts in our environmental sanitation laws, rules

and regulation. Refuse generation and its likely effects on the health,

quality of environment and the urban landscape have become burning

national issues in Nigeria today. All stakeholders concern with the safety

and the beautification of our environment have come to realise the

negative consequences of uncleared solid human wastes found in

residential neighbourhoods, markets, schools, and central business districts

in our cities. These solid wastes have become recurring features in our

urban environment. It is no longer in doubt that our cities are inundated

with the challenges of uncleared solid wastes. As a result, urban residents

are often confronted with the hazardous impact to their collective health

and safety. The hue and cry over the health consequences of exposed and

fermenting rubbish have not been quantified, although their impact is

noticeable, especially in times of epidemic in congested activity nuclei civic

centres, CBDS, neigbhourhoods, etc.

A United Nations Report (August 2004) noted with regret that while

developing countries are improving access to clean drinking water they are

falling behind on sanitation goals. At one of its summit in 2000

(Uwaegbelun 2004) revealed that The World Health Organization- (WHO

2004) and United Nations International Children Education Fund- (UNICEF

2004) joint report in August 2004 that: “about 2.4 billion people will likely

face the risk of needless disease and death by the target of 2015 because

of bad sanitation”. The report also noted that bad sanitation – decaying or

non-existent sewage system and toilets- fuels the spread of diseases like

cholera and basic illness like diarrhea, which kills a child every 21 seconds.

The hardest hit by bad sanitation is rural poor and residents of slum areas

in fast-growing cities, mostly in Africa and Asia . Solid Waste Landfills.

Although there is no immediate danger from the methane emitted in

atmosphere from landfills, over time it could accumulate inside the landfill

mass, thus increasing its concentration with attendant potential to modify

the Earth’s climate. 36 percent of human caused methane releases come

from our municipal solid waste landfills (USEPA, 1999). A ton of municipal

solid waste land-filled produces 123 pounds of methane- a potent

greenhouse gas, 20 times more effective at trapping heat in the

atmosphere than carbon dioxide (EA, 2008). Hulme et al. (1995) list the

adverse impacts of the increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in

the atmosphere to include: a threat to disrupt the diversity of habitats and

the life dependent on them. In particular, our health, agriculture, water

resources, forests, wildlife, and coastal areas are vulnerable to the changes

that global warming may bring. It further state that a rise of only a few

degrees in the Earth’s average temperature could result in more frequent

and intense storms, flooding of beaches, bay marshes, and other low-lying

coastal areas; more precipitation in some areas and not enough in others

and wider distribution of certain infectious diseases. Such significant

changes, note NEST (1991), Hulme et al. (1995) and Nicholson (2001)

could damage communities and national economies as well as alter the

natural world. Developing countries like Nigeria are particularly at risk

because of her bad waste management system and unhealthy disposal

practices. The problem of solid waste disposal is one of the most serious

environmental problems facing many cities in Nigeria. Waste management

plays an integral role in human activities. Various ways of managing solid

waste includes disposal by either burying or burning, reduce or reusing,

recycling and energy generation. Solid waste management differs in

developing countries like Nigeria and in industrialized countries of the world

like Germany. Several factors are responsible for the differences, a good

example of these are the types of waste generated in developing countries.

Contreau (1982) submitted that, in developing countries, there is much

high proportion of organic and considerably less plastic waste such that the

large amount of organic material makes the waste denser with greater

moisture and smaller particles.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Developing country like Nigeria is particularly at risk, because of her bad

waste management system and unhealthy disposal practices. Global

temperature will continue to increase causing further disruption to climate

patterns. Ultimately, all this can only be brought under control by engaging

in sustainable waste management practices, and stabilizing greenhouse

gases concentrations in the atmosphere. It is on this backdrop that the

researcher intends to investigate the impact of solid waste on land fill in

Nigeria.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

1) To investigate the effect of solid waste management practice on the

environment.

2) To determine the effect of solid waste land fill on the environment

3) To appraise the strategy for effective solid waste land fill

management practice

4) To determine the management practices of Nigeria for effective solid

waste management land fill

1.4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

For the successful completion of the study, the following hypotheses were

formulated:

H0: solid waste land fill has no significant impact on the environment

H1: solid waste land fill has a significant impact on the environment

H0: there is no significant relationship between solid waste land fill

emission and environmental pollution

H2: there is a significant relationship between solid waste land fill

emission and environmental pollution.

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study shall provide a structural study on solid waste

It shall investigate the effect of solid waste on the environment

The study shall analyze strategies for effective waste management practice

It shall provide a reference source of information for environmental

experts. It is believed that at the completion of the study, the findings will

be of great importance to the ministry of environment in ensuring that the

environment is devoid of pollution. The findings will also be of great benefit

to the waste management agency in ensuring that the waste are properly

disposed to ensure that it does not constitute a major air pollution in the

society. The study will also be of importance to researcher who wishes to

carry out investigation in similar topic. Finally, the study will be of

importance to lecturers, students, teachers and academia’s as the findings

will add to the pool of knowledge.

1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study covers the impact of solid waste land fill in Nigeria

but in the cause of the study, the researcher encounters some constrain

which limited the scope of the study;

(a)Availability of research material: The research material

available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study.

(b)Time: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance

wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic

activities and examinations with the study.

(c)Finance: The finance available for the research work does not

allow for wider coverage as resources are very limited as the

researcher has other academic bills to cover.

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Land Fill

A landfill site (also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage

dump or dumping ground and historically as a midden[1]) is a site for the

disposal of waste materials by burial and the oldest form of waste

treatment (although the burial part is modern; historically, refuse was just

left in piles or thrown into pits). Historically, landfills have been the most

common method of organized waste disposal and remain so in many

places around the world.

Land

Land, sometimes referred to as dry land, is the solid surface of the Earth

that is not permanently covered by water. The vast majority of human

activity throughout history has occurred in land areas that support

agriculture, habitat, and various natural resources.

Waste

Waste is any substance which is discarded after primary use, or it is

worthless, defective and of no use. Examples include municipal

solid waste(household trash/refuse), hazardous waste, wastewater (such

as sewage, which contains bodily wastes (feces and urine) and surface

runoff), radioactive waste, and others

SOLID WASTE
The American Public Liquid Association in 1975 defined solid waste as

unwanted and useless material with insufficient liquid content to be free

flowing, because of its sticky nature, solid waste has the ability to

accumulating and physically insulting and degrading the environment if not

well managed.

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as

follows. Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the

(background of the study), statement of the problem, objectives of the

study, research questions, research hypotheses, significance of the study,

scope of the study etc. Chapter two being the review of the related

literature presents the theoretical framework, conceptual framework and

other areas concerning the subject matter. Chapter three is a research

methodology covers deals on the research design and methods adopted in

the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and

presentation of finding. Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and

recommendations made of the study.

 CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Introduction

The problem of solid waste disposal is one of the most serious

environmental problems facing many cities in Nigeria. Waste management

plays an integral role in human activities. Various ways of managing solid

waste includes disposal by either burying or burning, reduce or reusing,

recycling and energy generation. Solid waste management differs in

developing countries like Nigeria, and in industrialized countries of the

world like Germany. Several factors are responsible for the differences, a

good example of these are the types of waste generated in developing

countries. Contreau (1982) submitted that, in developing countries, there is

much high proportion of organic and considerably less plastic waste such

that the large amount of organic material makes the waste denser with

greater moisture and smaller particles. Another factor identified is that the

technology in use in industrialized countries are inappropriate in developing

countries because of the much heavier, wetter and corrosive nature of

generated waste in developing countries. Lastly, developing countries,

most cities are unplanned and characterized by haphazard construction of

sprawling slums with narrow roads that are inaccessible to collection

vehicles, (Daskalopoulos 1998). Omotoso and Jegede (2009) observed that

in recent in years, solid waste generation in metropolitan cities has

increased prodigiously. They added that major high-ways have suddenly

become the dunghill for many citizens. The state seems to have acquired

the unenviable status of being one of the dirtiest cities in world. It is a

development that has malevolently aided the environmental problems of

the mega-city. Adegoke (1990) defined waste as substance and materials,

which are disposed of, or required to be disposed of, according to the

provision of national laws. In the same vein, Oxford Dictionary (1980)

defined wastes as that which is not or cannot be used, no longer of use.

Consequently, of these waste materials were not well managed , they

could result to serious health hazards. In Nigeria, solid waste management

is constitutionally a local government function. This is not exactly the

position in Ekiti State, where the Ekiti State Waste Management Board

(EKSWMB) exists as the sole public agency responsible for waste

management in the state. Ekiti State Waste Management Board came into

being because, it was assumed that individual Local Government

Authorities were incapable of performing the function of waste

management. Moreover, at the time of its establishment, solid waste

management situation in Ado Ekiti was chaotic and embarrassing to most

of her residents. Solid waste management, in terms of domestic, industrial

and commercial wastes, traditionally consists of collection and disposal

methods, depending on the type of waste, the area and level of processing

required. West Africa Health Examination Board (1991) viewed waste

management as the systematic administration of activities, which provide

for the collection transportation and processing of waste: It is the handling

process of solid waste materials from sources of generation to their final

disposal. However, solid wastes can be managed by open dumping, which

requires little planning and involves a land that is designated formally for

the purpose. But this method attracts flies, vermin and scavengers; the site
is characterized by offensive odors and other health hazards. In a way, the

site decreases the aesthetic value of the environment. Another technique is

the regular sanitary landfill, which is usually a depressed land area that

accommodates wastes and thereafter covered up with soil or other

materials by bulldozers or other heavy vehicles. Incineration is the

techniques of waste management which involves the combustion of waste

at high temperature, that is, the destruction of waste materials by burning

(friends of the earth, 2006)

2.2 Types of Solid Waste

Solid wastes are classified into different types depending on their sources

namely, household generated waste, known as municipal waste. Industrial

waste is described as hazardous waste, while waste generated in the

hospital is termed infectious waste. Oreyomi (2005) classified solid waste

as combustible items such as cartons, boxes, plastic, clothing etc. And non

combustible articles such as cans, ashes, glass, metals, furniture and

bathtubs etc. Oreyomi (2005) further observed that garbage denotes waste

resulting from growing, handling, preparation and consumption of food. It

attracts and breeds flies and other insects, tats and it emits odour.

Rubwish comprises of combustible and non-combustible items such as

papers, plastic, cans and glass, while industrial wastes are sawdust, paper

and iron. Agricultural wastes are wastes originating from agricultural

products such as corncob, banana stub, skin and leaves etc.

2.3 Methods of Managing Waste

The four common methods of managing waste according to Seo (2004) are

land filing, incineration, composting and anaerobic digestion. Incineration,

composting and anaerobic digestion are volume reducing technologies.

Ultimately, residue from these methods must be land filled Ayodele(2007)

viewed waste management as source reduction, refuse recycling,

controlled combustion and controlled landfill.

Furthermore, value can be recovered by generating energy from waste

(energy recovery) and lastly, solid waste should only be disposed, if the

aforementioned do not offer appropriate solution.

Source Reduction
 Involves efforts to reduce hazardous waste and other materials by

modifying industrial production. This method includes change in

manufacturing technology, raw material input and change in product

formulation. RE-USE is using an object or material again, either for its

original purpose or for a similar purpose, without significantly altering the

physical form of the object or material.

Recycling

Offers one means of reducing the impacts of waste disposal on the

atmosphere. It involves using waste as material to manufacture a new

product. Recycling involves altering the physical form of an object or

material and making a new object from the altered material.

Energy Recovery

Modern incinerators can use waste to generate electricity, thus preventing

the energy in waste from being wasted. Nordstrom and Enochsson (2009)

see waste disposal as a global problem contributing to the ongoing climate

change by large emissions of greenhouse gases. By using waste material

as a resource instead of land filling, the greenhouse emissions from

landfills would be reduced.

Waste Disposal

Open dumping occurs when large quantities or piles of waste are

deposited in areas, not designed to handle such materials. Improper

disposal of waste is not only unsightly; it may affect the public health and

the environment.

Land Filling

A sanitary landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and

is the oldest form of waste management. Land filling involves pitching

refuse into a depression or closed mining sites.

Composting

Waste decomposes in an enclosed chamber due to activities of bacteria,

using the oxygen that combined chemically with waste. Composting is a

process of biological decomposition of waste under aerobic and hemophilic

conditions, which breakdown organic materials leaving a humus rich

residue.
Incineration

Incineration is a process of destroying waste material by burning. It is the

most practical method of disposing hazardous waste. Incineration is the

high temperature, combustion of solid waste after separating the non

combustibles

2.4 Theoretical review: Integrated Sustainable Waste

Management

Integrated Solid Waste Management, ISWM, is a planning framework for

solid waste management. The programme was initiated of the Urban

Waste Expertise Programme (UWEP), supported by the Netherlands

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and designed and carried out by WASTE,

Advisors on Urban Environment and Development in Gouda, Netherlands.

UWEP has focused on bottom-up, participatory processes designed to

improve waste management, livelihoods and urban governance in

developing countries. The programme has been developed in cooperation

with partner organizations in the South. In the first six years of research,

between 1995 and 2001, the solid waste management was observed by
local researchers in the participating countries, and the importance of

micro and small enterprises and the informal sector was noticed. Through

some pilot project, where local experts and organizations set their own

priorities and designed the projects, the ISWM framework was created as a

way to understand and theorize the factors that influenced the success and

failure of these activities (Scheinberg, Jgosse, & Anschütz, 2004, p. 11

The ISWM insight is that problems with solid waste management often

have to do with more than lack of money and equipment. It can be

attitude problems among the residents, waste management staff or private

enterprises, or more serious factors as the institutional framework or social

or cultural context. In these cases money is not the solution, but a change

in social, institutional or political conditions is. It is important to remember

that there is no absolute solution of solid waste management that fits to all

cities and towns. Different systems in different parts of a city can also be

needed. What works in the rich areas, might not be suitable in low income

areas or on hillsides (Scheinberg, Klundert, & Anschütz, 2001, p. 10). The

ISWM concept takes as a point of departure four basic principles: Equity,

Effectiveness, Efficiency and Sustainability. Equity meaning that all citizens

are entitled to an appropriate waste management system for

environmental health reasons; Effectiveness saying the waste management

model will lead to the safe removal of all waste. Efficiency makes the

management of waste maximizing the benefits, minimizing the costs and

optimizing the use of resources and Sustainability refers to the fact that the

waste management system should be appropriate to the local conditions

and feasible from a technical, environmental, social, economic, financial,

institutional and political perspective. It can maintain itself

2.5 Stakeholders and participation

The municipalities with the general responsibility for urban cleanliness and

the households using the system are always stakeholders in waste

management. The local authority have several roles, they should be

policymakers to legitimize and support the roles of community and micro-

and small enterprises (MSE), support and participate in information

campaigns, and providing reliable disposal facilities. Households can have

different socio-economic and gender characteristics, but have a very

important role in garbage storage and collection, recycling, re-use and

disposal. They have both an individual responsibility and a collective

responsibility together with the community. Beside these two groups the

stakeholders can vary between towns. One primary group though, is MSEs
and Community Based Organizations (CBOs). The groups can differ in

characteristic which influence their waste activities. MSEs can vary in

orientation towards services, production, or values, while CBOs can have

variations in communication structure and legitimacy. According to the

ISWM the roles of CBOs is to mobilize the households, to supervise

performance by service providers and to coordinate waste management

activities, including the local authority. Other stakeholders in the

community may be active as waste generators or waste service users. It

can also be the formal or informal sector that trade with used items or

initiators of awareness raising campaigns. This is making the community

very complex. They have all different interest in waste and the aim for

ISWM is to make them co-operate to improve the solid waste system

(Scheinberg, Muller, & Hoffman, 2001, p. 39)

Local authorities used to have the only responsible for providing solid

waste management. They did everything from physical infrastructure,

institutional framework to everyday services. This is not always the best

solution for developing countries according to Scheinberg, Muller, &

Hoffman (2001), when the authorities can only provide waste services for a

smaller part of the city, while other have no service at all. Structural
adjustments and fiscal discipline are imposing strict limits on governmental

funds, restricting expansion. An expanding urban population demands

traditional and new services, but the authorities are less and less able to

provide it. The ISWM-concept is instead promoting the use of MSE and

CBO in the daily work of the waste management. When local governments

are lacking money to provide a sustainable service, well managed

privatization can increase the capacity for the government to provide a

reliable service to all residents. Private businesses often have the capital to

make investments in equipment that the municipality lack and have also

the knowledge about the neighborhood so they can provide a suitable

service (Scheinberg, 2001, p. 11). ISWM promotes encouragement of MSEs

and CBOs to get involved in the recycling sector. This sector is important

because it reduces the volume of waste and avoids the disposal cost, it can

also make an income for poor people. Micro- and small enterprises are

often informal. When using MSE, ISWM promotes to give the MSE

recognition and formal status. This creates a formal management and

control the relationship between the government and the MSE. Another

step to take is to institutionalize the MSEs and CBOs in waste management

by making long term plans based on the integration of their services

(Scheinberg, 2001, p. 9). ISWM wants to see MSEs as building blocks in an

urban privatization strategy that gives the municipality the opportunity to

create a more sustainable and integrated approach. (Scheinberg, 2001,

p.17 It is understood through experience that consultation with actors

concerned is likely to result in sustainable, widely supported activities. To

form this kind of partnership it takes at least two parties, the authority and

the community. The local authority is important because they make the

rules and frames in which the partnership can operate. The community

contains of several different groups as, people, households, businesses and

organizations that have different stakes. The ISWM concept means that

through information and awareness-raising, organization and participation,

the neighbourhood communities can play significant roles in waste

management, as long as the authorities provides a supportive context. The

partnership can also result in a combination of different types of waste

systems that is more likely to meet the demands of the residents. It can

also give jobs and income opportunities among waste collection and

recycling, and the community is more likely to be positive to the system

and 16 cooperate when they are a part of it. To increase the sustainability

in the waste management system it is also important to have a fair pricing

on the waste services, but also to calculate the costs and investigate how

much the waste generators are willing to pay. This includes both when

entrepreneurs are contracted by the local government and get paid to do a

service, and the collection fees (Scheinberg, Muller, & Hoffman, 2001, p.

39).

2.6 conceptual reviews; Wastes and solid wastes

The concept of waste is one that has attracted so much concern from

various researchers. This is because many items can be regarded as waste

yet what is waste to one individual may not be waste to another. Wastes

may be useful materials but are in places where they are not needed. A

discarded empty beer bottle or empty bottled water container may be

useful to a ‘zobo’ seller. Though these empty containers are discarded

because their owners found them useless, they can become a resource to

another person. In the light of this, waste has been conceptualized by

different authors. Adewumi (2001) defined waste as a resource in the

wrong place. In a different perspective, Tchobanoglous and Kreith (2002)

opined that wastes are discarded tangible products of human activities that

are regarded as unwanted and useless. Similarly, Abiodun (2003) refers to

waste as lack of use or value or useless remains. According to him, it is a

by-product of human activities. Oyeniyi (2011) defined waste as any

material which has been used and is no longer wanted because the

valuable or useful part of it has been taken out. This means that wastes

are such items which people are required to discard because their owners

no longer see any value in them but can serve another person a useful

purpose. MerriamWebster dictionary (2013) defined waste as refuse from

places of human or animal habitation. In the same light, The World Book

Dictionary (2013) defined waste as useless or worthless material; stuff to

be thrown away. Unfortunately, these definitions of wastes, except that of

Adewumi, reflect a widespread attitude that does not recognize waste as a

resource. But then, Zero Waste America (2013) saw waste in the light of

Adewumi (2001), as a resource that is not safely recycled back into the

environment or the marketplace. This definition takes into account the

value of wastes as a resource, as well as the threat its unsafe recycling can

present to the environment and public health. From the foregoing review,

it can be said that waste is a useless material that can become a resource

if treated well. For this study, wastes are materials that their owners no

longer see any value in but can become a resource to another person

when safely recycled. Various items can be considered as waste. Ezigbo

(2012) stated that waste can be any garbage, sludge, and gaseous and

other discharged materials resulting from various community activities. He

further stated that waste consists therefore of discarded materials resulting

from domestic and community activities, and from industrial, commercial,

and agricultural operation e.g., household rubbish, sewage sludge, wastes

from manufacturing activities, packaging items, discarded cars, old

televisions, garden waste, and old paint containers. Rathi, (2007) opined

that waste is an unavoidable by-product of human activities. It then follows

that waste can be generated anywhere, thus, all our daily activities can

give rise to a large variety of different wastes arising from different

sources. These may include wastes coming from households, commercial

activities (e.g., shops, restaurants, and hospitals), industry (e.g,

pharmaceutical companies, clothes manufacturers etc.), agriculture (e.g.,

slurry), construction and demolition projects, mining and quarrying

activities and from the generation of energy. Wastes can exist in liquid,

solid and gaseous forms which simply denote the state of matters that

make up the waste. Matter refers to a substance or thing of a particular

sort and can exist in liquid, solid or gaseous state. It then follows that

substances in liquid form constitute liquid waste e.g waste water from
domestic use, substances in gaseous form constitute gaseous waste e.g

carbon (iv) oxide, a waste product of respiration, while substances in solid

form, that is, hard or firm forms constitute solid waste e.g. garbage,

rubbish etc. Of the different categories of wastes being generated, solid

wastes poses a hydra-headed problem beyond the cope of various solid

waste management systems in Nigeria (Geoffrey, 2005), as streets

experience continual presence of solid waste from commercial activities.

Solid waste has been variously defined by different individuals and groups.

Solid waste is any useless, unwanted and discarded material, resulting

from normal community activities which have lost its original purpose and

usage with insufficient liquid content to be free flowing (American Public

works Association, 1975; WHO, 1977, West African Health Examination

Board-WAHEB, 1991; Obionu, 1999; and Okereke, 2000). Additionally,

Nnamani (2000) conceptualized solid wastes as all materials that the

possessor or owners no longer considers of sufficient value to retain.

Avinash , Manoj, and Eonkar (2008) defined solid waste (SW) as the

material that no longer has any value to the person who is responsible for

it and is not intended to be discharged through a pipe. The researchers

posited that solid wastes does not normally include human excreta but it is
generated by domestic, commercial, industrial, healthcare, agricultural and

mineral extraction activities and accumulates in streets and public places.

Babayemi and Dauda (2009) added that solid wastes are nonliquid and

nongaseous products of human activities, regarded as being useless. The

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2012) defined solid waste as

any garbage or refuse, sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, water

supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded

material, including solid, liquid, semi-solid, or contained gaseous material

resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations,

and from community activities. Oyeniyi (2011) referred to solid waste as

human and animal excrement or faeces. Smartranger (2013) defined solid

waste as the useless and unwanted products in the solid state derived from

the activities of and discarded by the society; produced either by product

of production processes or arise from the domestic or commercial sector

when objects or materials are discarded after use. In the view of County

(2013) solid waste are material such as household garbage (includes

recycling), food wastes, yard wastes, and demolition or construction debris.

He further opined that waste includes discarded items like household

appliances, furniture, scrap metal, machinery, car parts and abandoned or

junk vehicles. In the view of Desa, Kadir and Yusooff (2012) solid wastes

are useless and unwanted products in the solid state derived from the

activities of and discarded by society. In this study, solid wastes refer to

materials in solid form that have lost their useful values and are discarded.

2.7 Management and solid waste management

Management is vital in every aspect of life, be it family, job, church or any

other formal and informal organization. This is because human and

material resources need to be coordinated to ensure that everything is put

in place accordingly. Aluko (2001) opined that management is the act of

arranging and organizing materials and conditions that the goals and

purposes of an organization may be achieved. In similar opinion Maxwell

(2004), posited that management is the process of organizing, controlling,

coordinating and utilizing human and material resources towards achieving

organizational goals. According to Maxwell (2004) how best or successful

the human resources are managed, goes a long way to determine how

successful the material and financial resources are to be utilized to

adequately achieve the organizational goals and objectives for which the
organization stand for. Therefore, management may be proper or improper

because the way resources are coordinated is vital in determining

effectiveness. A more comprehensive definition of management is given by

Gomezmejia, Balkin, and Cardy (2008). According to them, management in

all business and organizational activities is the act of coordinating the

efforts of people to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available

resources efficiently and effectively. To them, Management comprises

planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an

organization (a group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the

purpose of accomplishing a goal; Resourcing encompasses the deployment

and manipulation of human resources, financial resources, technological

resources, and natural resources. They went further to state that since

organizations can be viewed as systems and that management can also be

defined as human action, including design to facilitate the production of

useful outcomes from a system. Hornby (2006) defined management as

the act or skill of dealing with people or situations in a successful way.

According to Akrani (2008) management is an individual or group of

individuals that accept responsibilities to run an organization; they plan,

organize, direct, and control all the essential activities of the organization.
He went further to state that management is the organizational process

that included strategic planning, setting, objectives, managing, resources,

deploying human and financial assets needed to achieve objectives and

measuring results. It can be deduced from these definitions that

management is an art, and a process. It also implies the use and

coordination of human and material resources within to achieve objectives.

It also be deduced that management involves planning, setting objectives,

organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling. In this study,

management is the process of coordinating the efforts of members of an

organization using the organizational material and human resources to

achieve the organizational objectives. Management is crucial in every

activity, even in solid waste. This is because when useless discarded solid

materials litter the environment, proper planning, organization and

coordination of human and material resources are necessary to ensure that

these discarded solid materials are removed safely from the environment

so that they do not constitute hazard to health and environment if left

unattended to. Thus, for healthy environment, improved human health,

increased productivity and improved environmental aesthetics,

management of solid waste is very necessary. Management started to be

associated with waste not quite long. According to Agwu (2012) over the

last decades; wastes began to be associated with management because of

the need for plans and methods for its disposal; a procedure which

requires specific and well-tailored policies. This is waste has contributed to

a number of health and environment hazards to man. This situation has

raised a great concern among public health sector as well as researcher all

over the world. Thus solid waste management becomes necessary for a

clean environment. Agwu (2012) defined solid waste management as the

process of collecting, storing, treating and disposing of solid wastes in such

a way that they are harmless to humans, plants, animals, the ecology and

the environment generally. Abiodun (2003) opined that waste management

is the collection, transport, processing or disposal, managing and

monitoring of waste materials. According to Abiodun, the term usually

relates to materials produced by human activity, and the processes

generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or

aesthetics. He further stated that all wastes materials whether they are

solid, liquid, gaseous or radioactive fall within the remit of waste

management. Geek (2012) perceived solid waste management as the

process used to dispose of garbage. Nathanson (2013) defined solid waste

management as collecting, treating, and disposing of solid material that is

discarded because it has served its purpose or is no longer useful. A more

comprehensive definition of solid waste management was given by Tay

(2012), as the discipline associated with controlling the generation,

storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing, and disposal of solid

waste. This according to Tay, is done in a manner that is in accordance

with the best principles of health, economics, engineering, conservation,

aesthetics, and other environmental considerations, and that is also

responsive to public attitudes.

2.8 Obstacle to waste management

Impediments are hindrances. Things that tend to prevent smooth running

of a process. According to Hornby (2006) impediments refer to something

that delay or stop the progress of something. Free online Dictionary (2013)

defined an impediment as anything that slows or blocks progress; factor

causing trouble in achieving a positive result or tending to produce a

negative result. In this study, impediments refer to things that prevent

efficient management of solid waste in Anambra State. In Anambra State,

part of the reasons why management of solid waste appears to be

challenging is in waste collection and transportation. Sometimes, when

waste workers come to designated dumpsites in the streets to collect

waste, their vehicles may not be sufficient in number. This makes them to

overload the vehicles. When this happens, wastes fall from the vehicles as

the vehicle moves from one street to another in a bid to get to their

disposal sites. These wastes that fell from the waste vehicles as a result of

over loading of the few available vehicles, litter the environment. This

situation further causes waste to litter the environment thus, wastes

appears to be improperly collected. Thus impediments to management of

solid waste can manifest in collection, storage, transportation, treatment

and disposal of solid waste. To buttress this observation, Dauda and Osita

(2000) stated that Borno State Environmental Protection Agency (BOSEPA)

has a total of nine vehicles in Maiduguri, seven tippers, one loader and one

gully emptier, out of which only four tippers and one loader are

functioning. This according to these researchers impedes proper

management of solid waste in Borno State. Ogwueleka (2009) observed

that solid waste management in Nigeria is characterized by inefficient

collection methods, insufficient coverage of the collection system and

improper disposal of solid waste. According to this researcher, solid waste

generation exceeds collection capacity because there is no regular routine

collection. Also, 60 percent of trucks available for waste collection in

Nigeria are always out of service at any one time. Ogwueleka (2009) in

support of Dauda and Osita (2000) added that the collection vehicles are in

a state of disrepair in most Nigerian cities and that there is inadequate

service coverage in most urban areas, while in rural areas, there is no

waste collection. He further stated that rural dwellers have no access to

waste collection services. They dump waste at any vacant plot, public

space, and river or burn it in their backyard thereby polluting the air. In

highlighting these impediments, it appears that these management

impediments are as a result of certain logistic factors. Ogweleka (2009)

opined that certain logistic factors such as poor funding, lack of

institutional arrangement, lack of expertise and manpower to run solid

waste management programme, little or no functional background or

training in engineering and management of majority of environmental

agency workers, no reliable measurement of generated waste, contribute

the impediments to management of solid waste in Nigeria. The conditions

of Nigerian roads are terrible. In some streets and market places, the roads

are so narrow for waste vehicles to pass through. In places where the

roads are wide enough for the vehicles to pass through, the road is so bad
with lots of potholes and sharp objects (arising from flood water due to

waste blocked gutters) that can puncture the waste vehicles. Among the

factors that hinder effective SWM in Nigeria as pointed out by Ogwueleka

(2009) are poor cities networks, traffic congestion and narrow roads.

According to this researcher, harsh condition of roads and infrastructures,

leads to constant break down of the waste collection truck. The researcher

pointed out that slums and squatter areas in the poor neighbourhood of

most cities with narrow, hilly, bad and unpaved streets, non-rational routes

for collection services contribute to poor waste management in Nigeria.

This researcher further identified collection cost and the crippling fuel

crisis, use of compaction trucks that are uncommon, expensive and difficult

to repair and designed to handle low density waste as challenges facing

proper waste management in Nigeria. In addition to management and

logistic impediments to solid waste management, Eja, Asikong, and Arikpo

(2008) opined that absence of data on the quantity and composition of

wastes generated over the years, besides the planlessness of the urban

areas, constituted an obvious impediment to effective solid waste

management in Nigeria, which includes Cross River State where this study
will be carried out. Thus, there is obvious need to devise an optimization

strategy that will help overcome these impediments.

2.9 LANDFILL DEVELOPMENT, OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT

IN LAGOS

At the inception of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) as

Lagos State Refuse Disposal Board in 1977, there were five existing Landfill

or dumpsites within Lagos metropolis, namely;

 Pelewura (Adeniji Adele) Lagos Island Local government area.

 Gbagada (Kosofe Local Government area)

 Isolo (Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area)

 Achakpo (Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government area)

 Ojota (Odo-Iya-Alaro Local Government area)

These sites were open swamps progressively reclaimed with refuse. At that

time, the environmental implications of waste management activities on

these sites were of secondary importance to the waste being disposed

(Adebisi, 2000). The five sites have, however, been closed to waste

operations as far back as 1996. In recognition of the prime position of

Landfill as the final waste disposal means in solid waste management,

earth-moving equipment such as bulldozers, excavators etc. were procured

by LAWMA for Sanitary Landfill Practice under the World Bank-assisted

project in 1988. The package also included the development of Sanitary

landfill Infrastructural Facilities to enable LAWMA fulfill its waste

management disposal functions. Equipment delivery and site development

commenced in 1988 and were completed in 1992. Consequently, three

sites were proposed for sanitary landfill development in Lagos State

1. Olushosun (42 ha) in the Ikeja Local Government area is located at the

Northern part of the State.

2. Abule-Egba (10.5 ha) in the Alimosho Local Government area is located

at the North Western part of the State.

3. Solous (3.0 ha) in the Alimosho Local Government area is located at the

South Western part of the State.

2.10 Municipal Waste Disposal and Landfill

There are a number of different ways in which cities dispose of or treat

their waste: Refuse dumps: These are the most widely practiced waste

disposal method especially in developing nations. These are open holes in

the ground or ground surface where waste is disposed of and has little
environmental regulations. Landfills: These are any land areas serving as

depository of urban, or municipal solid waste. More commonly used today

to protect the environment, these facilities are specially created so waste

can be put into the ground with little or no harm to the natural

environment through pollution (Cointreau-Levine, 1996). Today, landfills

are engineered to protect the environment and prevent pollutants from

entering the soil and possibly polluting ground water in one of two ways:

first, with the use of a clay liner, these are specially designed and

constructed according to engineering specifications, to block pollutants

from leaving the landfill. These are called sanitary landfills; second, with

the use of synthetic liners like plastic to separate the landfill's waste from

the land below it. This type is called a municipal solid waste landfill. Once

waste is put into these landfills, it is compacted until the area is full, at

which time it is buried/ closed. This is done to prevent the waste from

contacting the environment but also to keep it dry and out of contact with

air so it will not quickly decompose. Thus, current ‘state of the art’ landfill

design aims to entomb waste disposed into them and keep it dry forever.

This is unsustainable since all landfills will eventually leak and pollute the

geo-environment. Methane-Recovery Landfill: Some landfills operators try

to recover methane. However, 60% is about the best recovery of methane

being reported; most landfills that collect methane recover somewhere

around 40% (US EPA, 1999). In 1996, only 14 percent of landfill methane

was captured (most landfill methane is flared on-site while some is used to

produce energy). Leachate Recirculation Land fill: Experiments showing an

increase in biological degradation after addition of water have led to the

assumption that traditional landfills are too dry and additional water is

required to increase biological degradation which has led to the

development of irrigation and leachate recirculation landfill concepts also

called bioreactor landfills (Grellier, et al., 2008). Bioreactor Landfill :

Recently, new systems of waste treatment are being developed for

landfilling waste, called ‘bioreactors’, to try to capture methane more

effectively. A bioreactor landfill is operated to enhance waste

decomposition, gas and leachate production as well as refuse stabilization.

By re-circulating leachate and adding water, decomposition rates can be

increased, making methane recovery more economical. These processes

also compact waste further increasing the operational capacity of the

landfill (Hoeks, 1983; Barlaz et al, 1990). Municipal solid waste landfills and

Methane-recovery landfills are the top human-caused source of methane in

our atmosphere. Waste combustors: In addition to landfills, waste can also

be disposed/treated using waste combustors. This involves the burning of

municipal waste at extremely high temperatures to reduce waste volume,

control bacteria, and sometimes generate electricity. Air pollution from the

combustion is sometimes a concern with this type of waste disposal.

However in the developed worlds, governments have regulations to reduce

pollution from this waste treatment device. Transfer stations are another

type of municipal waste disposal/handling technique currently in use.

These are facilities where municipal waste is unloaded and sorted to

remove recyclables and hazardous materials/components from collected

waste. The remaining waste is then reloaded into trucks and taken to

landfills while the waste that can be recycled for example is sent to

recycling centers.
 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This chapter deals with the method used in collecting data required in

carrying out this research work it explains the procedures that were

followed and the instrument used in collecting data.

3.2 Sources of data collection

Data were collected from two main sources namely:

(i)Primary source and

(ii)Secondary source

Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the

research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey,

observation questionnaire or as experiment, the researcher has adopted

the questionnaire method for this study.

Secondary source:

These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as by

products of the same other purposes. Example administration, various

other unpublished works and write ups were also used.

3.3 Population of the study

Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the

researcher is interested in getting information for the study solid waste

land fill in Nigeria, in the course of the study 200 staff of federal ministry

of environment was selected randomly by the researcher as the population

of the study.

3.4 Sample and sampling procedure

Sample is the set people or items which constitute part of a given

population sampling. Due to large size of the target population, the

researcher used the Taro Yamani formula to arrived at the sample

population of the study.

n= N

1+N(e)2

n= 200

1+200(0.05)2

= 200

1+200(0.0025)

= 200 200

1+0.5 = 1.5 = 133

3.5 Instrument for data collection

The major research instrument used is the questionnaires. This was

appropriately moderated. The secretaries were administered with the

questionnaires to complete, with or without disclosing their identities. The

questionnaire was designed to obtain sufficient and relevant information

from the respondents. The primary data contained information extracted

from the questionnaires in which the respondents were required to give

specific answer to a question by ticking in front of an appropriate answer

and administered the same on staff of the two organizations: The

questionnaires contained about 16 structured questions which was divided

into sections A and B.

3.6 Validation of the research instrument

The questionnaire used as the research instrument was subjected to face

its validation. This research instrument (questionnaire) adopted was

adequately checked and validated by the supervisor his contributions and

corrections were included into the final draft of the research instrument

used.

3.7 Method of data analysis

The data collected was not an end in itself but it served as a means to an

end. The end being the use of the required data to understand the various

situations it is with a view to making valuable recommendations and

contributions. To this end, the data collected has to be analysis for any

meaningful interpretation to come out with some results. It is for this

reason that the following methods were adopted in the research project

for the analysis of the data collected. For a comprehensive analysis of data

collected, emphasis were laid on the use of absolute numbers frequencies

of responses and percentages. Answers to the research questions were

provided through the comparison of the percentage of workers response to

each statement in the questionnaire related to any specified question

being considered.

Frequency in this study refers to the arrangement of responses in order of

magnitude or occurrence while percentage refers to the arrangements of

the responses in order of their proportion.

The simple percentage method is believed to be straight forward easy to

interpret and understand method . The researcher therefore choose the

simple percentage as the method to use. The formula for percentage is

shown as.

% = f/N x 100/1

where f = frequency of respondents response

N = Total Number of response of the sample

100 = Consistency in the percentage of respondents for each item

contained in questions.
 CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA

4.1 Introduction

Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data

collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the

responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise

will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will

also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this

research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the

analysis.
DATA ANALYSIS

The data collected from the respondents were analyzed in tabular form

with simple percentage for easy understanding.

A total of 133(one hundred and thirty three) questionnaires were

distributed and 133 questionnaires were returned.

Question 1

Gender distribution of the respondents.

TABLE I

Gender distribution of the respondents

Response Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Male 77 57.9 57.9 57.9

Valid Female 56 42.1 42.1 100.0

Total 133 100.0 100.0

From the above table it shows that 57.9% of the respondents were male

while 42.1% of the respondents were female.

Question 2

The positions held by respondents

TABLE II
 The positions held by respondents

Response Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Managers 37 27.8 27.8 27.8

Environmentalist 50 37.6 37.6 65.4

Valid Waste disposer 23 17.3 17.3 82.7

drivers 23 17.3 17.3 100.0

Total 133 100.0 100.0

The above tables shown that 37 respondents which represents 27.8% of

the respondents are managers, 50 respondents which represents 37.6 %

are accountants, 23 respondents which represents 17. 3% of the

respondents are economists, while 23 respondents which represents 17.3%

of the respondents are marketers

TEST OF HYPOTHESES

solid waste land fill has no significant impact on the environment.

Table III

solid waste land fill has no significant impact on the

environment.

Response Observed N Expected N Residual

Agreed 40 33.3 6.8

strongly agreed 50 33.3 16.8
Disagreed 26 33.3 -7.3
strongly disagreed 17 33.3 -16.3
Total 133
 Test Statistics

solid waste land

fill has no
significant
impact on the
environment
.

Chi-Square 19.331a
Df 3
Asymp. Sig. .000

a. 0 cells (0.0%) have expected

frequencies less than 5. The
minimum expected cell
frequency is 33.3.

Decision rule:

There researcher therefore reject the null hypothesis that state that solid

waste land fill has no significant impact on the environment as the

calculated value of 19.331 is greater than the critical value of 7.82

Therefore the alternate hypothesis is accepted that state that solid waste

land fill has a significant impact on the environment.

TEST OF HYPOTHESIS TWO

There is no significant relationship between solid waste land fill emission

and environmental pollution.

Table V

there is no significant relationship between solid

waste land fill emission and environmental pollution.

Observed N Expected N Residual

Yes 73 44.3 28.7

No 33 44.3 -11.3
Undecided 27 44.3 -17.3
Total 133

Test Statistics
 there is no
significant
relationship
between solid
waste land fill
emission and
environmental
pollution.
.

Chi-Square 28.211a
Df 2
Asymp. Sig. .000

a. 0 cells (0.0%) have expected

frequencies less than 5. The
minimum expected cell
frequency is 44.3.

Decision rule:

There researcher therefore reject the null hypothesis that state that there

is no significant relationship between solid waste land fill emission and

environmental pollution as the calculated value of 28.211 is greater than

the critical value of 5.99

Therefore the alternate hypothesis is accepted that state that there is a

significant relationship between solid waste land fill emission and

environmental pollution.
 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Introduction

It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain

the land use policy and tourism development in Nigeria.

In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were

presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this

chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the

researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of land use

policy and how to develop tourism in Nigeria.

5.2 Summary

Waste management plays an integral role in human activity. The overall

view of solid waste management is to collect, treat and dispose solid waste

by urban dwellers in an environmentally and socially satisfactory manner.

Until recently, Nigerians have not been particularly concerned about proper

waste management, open dumping and open burning in unapproved

locations has been the norms. The constraints to effective solid waste

management are not limited to lack of policy or laws, but poor

infrastructure, education, social awareness of problems and solutions, and

lack of institution promoting sustainable environmental actions.

5.3 Conclusion

Fire incidents on landfills and dumps in Nigeria, especially those involving

burning tyres will continue to pose a serious risk to the health of nearby
residents through prolonged or repeated exposure to the toxic chemicals

they emit and the contamination of groundwater. Some of the hazardous

chemical compounds emitted by burning tyres are capable of causing

severe health conditions such as reproductive and developmental

disorders, and cancers in humans. Effective landfill management by the

operators is therefore necessary to prevent the occurrence of these fires in

order to protect the environment and human health. The disposal of waste

tyres should be prohibited at all landfills by thoroughly inspecting and

controlling incoming waste. Buried waste should also be compacted on a

regular basis to prevent hot spots from forming. Since methane is highly

flammable and can pose a fire hazard, gas collection and control systems

should be installed at the sites to collect landfill gas which can be flared to

convert methane to gases less harmful to the environment or converted to

energy. This research examines landfill emission and their impact on the

environment in Nigeria and therefore calls for the need to improve on

waste management practices and construct well engineered sanitary

landfills to ensure the protection of human health and the environment.

5.4 Recommendation
Haven successfully completed the study, the following recommendations

are put forward by the researcher:

 Strategic environmental planning of waste management practices

should be put in place

 There is need to ensure strict adherence to guidance and cost

analysis of solid waste options in the area.

 Community participation in collection, selection of sites and design

Of facilities is inherently essential for sustainability.

 There is need to strengthen the work force, by recruiting more

personnel in the Waste Management Authority.

 Government should provide adequate funds for waste management

personnel for the purchase of more evacuating vehicles and waste

disposal containers.

 There is need for environmental and public health education on the

danger of indiscriminate waste disposal in the study area.

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