POPULATION GROWTH AND WASTE MANAGEMENT IN AN AFRICAN CITY

OMOLOLU, O.O Ph.D.

Department of Sociology

University of Ibadan

Ibadan, Nigeria.

 

And

LAWAL, S.A

Centre for Global Health,

Trinity College Dublin,

Dublin, Ireland.

Introduction• In mid 2010, data shows that 1,030 million

people reside in the continent of Africa

(PRB, 2010). • While 158 million of the continents

inhabitants are found in Nigeria. • 47% now live in urban spaces thereby

increasing the competition for resources on a daily basis leading to:

• Inadequate infrastructures and amenities• Inadequate housing for all• Increase in slums dwellers• High crime rates• Traffic congestion and • High volume of waste generated daily.

Introduction (2)Population in Lagos is put at 9, 113, 605 million (NPC, 2006).

Highest concentration of industries in the West African sub-region (Uroko, 2008).

Waste management in Lagos gulps between 20-25% of government funds on the average and;

Only two trips of waste is made before the end of the day, but close to 40 trips can be made in other cities (Owoh 2006).

This study is significant because it provides insights into environmental health and make recommendations for policy improvement.

The Challenges of waste in Lagos

 According to Kofoworola (2007) problems of

waste management in Lagos includes the

following: • Improper collection system, • lack of adequate waste collection equipment and vehicles, • indiscriminate dumping of waste, • lack of continuity and implementation of government

policies, and• the current waste management practice in Lagos

Implications of waste on health

• These includes an increase in health outcomes such as:• Headaches “The rate of hospitalisation for diabetes

• Sleepiness has increased in populations close to

• Respiratory symptoms hazardous waste site” (Kouznetsova,

• Psychological conditions Huang, Ma, Lessner, and Carpenter,

• Gastrointestinal complaints 2007).

• Cancers

• Adverse pregnancy outcomes

• Abnormalities in liver function and

• Renal diseases (Vrijheid, 2000).

ObjectivesThe overall objective of the study was to examine the influence

of population growth on waste management in Lagos

metropolis.

Specific objectives: • To explain the effect of population growth on waste generation in Lagos

metropolis. • To examine the pattern of waste collection, transportation and disposal

in Lagos.• To ascertain the effectiveness of public-private partnerships (PPP)

towards waste management in Lagos.

Definition of WasteWaste (also known as rubbish, trash, refuse, garbage, or junk) is

unwanted or unusable materials, which has been disposed off

(wikipedia online).

Classification of waste • (i) Domestic/Residential Waste• (ii) Commercial Waste• (iii) Institutional Waste • (iv) Garbage• (v) Rubbish • (vi) Ashes• (vi) Bulky Wastes • (viii) Dead Animals• (ix) Construction and Demolition Wastes • (x) Industrial Wastes• (xi) Hazardous Wastes • (xii) Sewage Wastes• (xiii) Medical wastes

Waste Collection and transportation• Various waste collection methods has been adopted in Lagos metropolis.

These include:

• House to house• Communal depots• Kerbsides• Block systems of collection• Commercial and industrial waste collection• Bulk loading • Cart• Open bed trucks• Trucks• Compactors

Methodology• Secondary data (Lagos State Waste Management Authority

(LAWMA)-domestic waste unit;

• Primary data (questionnaires and in-depth interview-IDI);

• A multi-stage sampling approach was adopted;

• The clustering of the study area into council wards;

• A random selection of households and industries;

• A purposive selection of educational institutions and 10 IDI was done;

• A total of 290 respondents were administered the questionnaires;

• The data were analysed in form of simple percentages;

• The (IDI) was interpreted to match the objectives of the study;

• The secondary data collected was interpreted to explain the causal relationship between population growth and waste management in Lagos metropolis.

Findings• The study showed that majority of the respondents were single

181(62.4%), while 109(37.6%) were married.

• The secondary data showed that as the population increased, the amount of waste generated also increased as per capita waste generation per person is put at 0.5kg/p/day.

• Alimosho LGA• Year Population Waste generated• 2006 1, 362, 077 248,579.60 tones • 2007 1, 432,164 261, 369.20 tones • 2008 1, 546, 737 282, 280.05 tones • “The continuous increase in population as experienced in Lagos brings about

increase in waste generated daily...” Female (Corporate Intelligence Unit)

• (87.8%) population growth has an effect on waste management

(12.2%) of them think otherwise.

Therefore “population growth has a causal relationship with waste

management in urban centres”... (Zerbock, 2003)

Waste collection, transportation and disposal • Waste collection- Study Findings

• Once a week (46.3%) • Twice a week (21.1%) • Not collected (12.6%) and result to burning at night • Once in two weeks (11.6%) • Once a month (8.4%)

• Waste transportation and disposal

• (61.1%) engage the services of cart pushers (kọlẻ kọlẻ) • (38.9%) do not

• (58.9%) engage the services of private operators• (38.9%) do not and • (2.1%) sometimes engage their services and sometimes

do not engage their services.

PPP and waste management in Lagos • (47.0%) LAWMA have been effective in the management of waste

(12.2%) LAWMA have been ineffective and • (40.8%) were undecided.

• “LAWMA operates during the day and at night, it does street sweeping and refuse evacuation across the metropolis”... Male (Domestic waste Unit).

• (56.1%) private operators are effective in the management of waste (22.4%) private operators have been ineffective and

(21.5%) were undecided.

• A shared IDI response revealed that:

“Their performance is satisfactory because the private operators are

very effective, though some perform averagely; their participation is

still required as LAWMA directs some of the Private Sector

Participation (PSP) activities”.

Conclusion and RecommendationsThe study showed that waste generation in Lagos state from 2006-2008

increased as population growth was found to have a significant influence on

waste management in Lagos metropolis.• Therefore; • The need for increased waste education and awareness programmes on

radio and television stations daily • The need to introduce waste management practices into the school

curriculum• Establishment of recycling plants across each L.G.A of the state• The need for mobile phone alerts as a medium of advocacy• The fee for payment on waste collection should be made affordable• Public private partnerships should be widely encouraged in the

collection, transportation and disposal of waste in Lagos state, Nigeria.

THANK YOU THANK YOU

(Lagos will not get spoilt).