Introduction
The jettison of waste all over the universe is a quandary that persists with the development of industrialised states and the enlargement of population. For ages, disposal of refuse has been a concern for persons every bit good as states. In the past waste was collected and disposed, presents wastes are collected, transported, processed ( minimise jeopardy, stuff recycling, bring forth energy from waste ) and disposal which follows rules of waste hierarchy.
Wastes are been generated in urban and rural parts of any state, nevertheless this study is focused on Nigeria, the most thickly settled West African state located on the gulf of Guinea bordered clockwise by Republic ‘s of Benin, Niger, Chad and Cameroon with a land country of 923, 768 km2 and over 140 million people distributed at 48. 3 % urban and 57. 7 % rural [ 1 ] . Nigeria is blessed with tremendous wealth of natural and human resources, however these resources over the old ages have been mismanaged owing to corruptness and other frailties in the authorities. These are seen in the deficiency of basic substructures observed all over the state.
Nigeria ‘s waste direction job reached an alarming point in 1985 when President Buhari responded with an inaugural known as the Environmental Sanitation ( clean-up run ) which compelled all resident Nigerians to transport out mandatory environmental clean up every last Saturday of the month [ 2 ] . Several Torahs and ordinances have been promulgated to salvage the environment among which is Federal Environmental Protection Agency Act of 1988. Environmental Torahs in Nigeria are now administered and enforced by Federal Ministry of Environment after the disintegration in 1999 of Federal Environment Protection Agency ( FEPA ) by President Obasanjo. In 2005, authorities have approved National Environmental Sanitation Policy ( after now known as NESP ) and devolved power to provinces and local authoritiess to pull off waste generated in their legal power. Targets of this policy includes seeking to increase entree to toilet installations in public topographic points and in families ; increasing direction of sewerage and body waste ; and seeking to establish school sanitation programmes [ 3 ] . However, much still necessitate to be done to achieve proper containment of all mode of waste.
Rural Nigeria is largely dependent upon subsistence agribusiness [ 4 ] albeit rural – urban migration continues. Asides the under developed basic substructure, tremendous population and people-attitude owing to deficiency of consciousness is another factor impacting waste direction in rural Nigeria. All these may hinder successful execution of modern waste direction techniques.
This paper aims to place issues and barriers to efficient waste ( not risky ) direction in rural countries of Nigeria proposing recommendations for betterment.
2. 0 METHODOLOGY
Resources employed for this paper were taken majorly from cyberspace sites that shed visible radiation on this subject. Besides, information was gathered from category work. Text used was obtained from university library.
3. 0 Barriers TO EFFICIENT WASTE MANAGEMENT IN RURAL NIGERIA
Rural life varies all over the universe but portions a common activity which is fundamentally little to big scale agribusiness among other people or governmental activities. This is besides observed in rural Nigeria except for the fact that basic substructures like rail, route, H2O and power supply, wellness installations and so on are commonly absent. Domestic waste production is increasing and is compounded by population growing and low environmental consciousness, deficiency of basic substructure, unequal statute laws amongst others. Types of wastes generated in rural countries are largely household, market and agricultural wastes traveling by the income of the rural public.
3. 2 EFFECTS OF POPULATION GROWTH
Over the old ages, Nigeria has witnessed drastic addition in population which triggered the proliferation of waste all over the state. For case in 1921, Nigeria ‘s population stood at a little more than 1, 000, 000 and today 2010 it is more than 140, 000, 000. Measure of waste generated in an country is relative to population size because as population additions so besides waste generated besides increases. With an estimated growing rate of 3. 2, Nigeria ‘s population continues to turn and this has led to the waste direction job observed today in the state. Although rural inhabitants in Nigeria are hapless yet waste generated from these country are tremendous traveling by the 57. 7 % distribution. There is addition in the nutrient, vesture, engineering and other stuffs consumed similarly traveling to blow. The greater the population, the higher the demand for mechanisms ( waste direction techniques ) in topographic point to provide for the waste generated. However, this effort is yet to be realized in Nigeria.
3. 3 LOW AWARENESS
Furthermore, rural inhabitants are non cognizant of waste direction techniques as such indiscriminate dumping ( flytipping ) is common in rural colony. Dumping of garbage at route side and abandoned edifices is prevailing. Rural agribusiness in Nigeria is still under par as moribund agriculture techniques are still in usage. Agricultural activities carried out in rural Nigeria include fishing, farm animal and intensive agriculture. Farmers are still dependent entirely on imported NPK fertilisers alternatively of geting techniques for composting waste from harvested harvest husk, unwanted bush, grass, waste vegetations or change overing carnal dungs into manure. It is interesting to observe that husbandmans in Kano province require human fecal wastes dug out from pit latrines as alimentary additives for their dirt enrichment [ 6 ] . Asides the wellness hazard accompanied with delving out human waste from pit latrine, there may be the harmful infection from application to harvests. In add-on, rural husbandmans are dependent on shrub combustion in order to dispose of their waste. They are incognizant of the biomass energy in the vegetation remains been burned and the risky consequence on dirt. Educating the public through agencies like public audience should be carried out thereby doing them cognizant of the tremendous resource in waste is non decently carried out.
3. 4 LACK OF STATISTICS
Nigeria lacks record maintaining and this is besides apparent in governmental procedures. Accountability is hapless in all sectors including authorities and instruction. Little or no work has been carried out on waste direction of rural parts of Nigeria in order to garner baseline informations for measuring the utility of waste minimisation program. Likewise, waste audit of establishments like family, schools, industries and the likes are non carried out or where carried out inconclusive. Till day of the month, the state can non tout of an accurate nose count figure but an estimated estimation owing to porous boundary lines and political catch. This makes it hard to understand make-up and measures of waste been generated in a peculiar topographic point for developing waste direction systems and policies
3. 5 LACK OF BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE
Basic substructures are absent in rural Nigeria and this has serious effects on waste direction of any state. Waste direction systems are booming in developed states partially because of the handiness of substructures. Lack of roads, rail, H2O, proper town planning ( drainage ) , waste direction installation and so on are impacting Nigeria ‘s rural home. For NESP to be effectual there should be good route web in order to make interior rural countries.
In add-on adequate mechanism and binding Torahs for the aggregation, intervention and disposal of waste is absent in Nigeria. For case, Lagos province created municipal waste authorization charged with the aggregation and disposal of domestic waste all over the province but this was impeded by deficiency of good roads as such waste aggregation in rural parts were about impossible. Furthermore, unequal tools are partially to fault as necessary equipment like trucks, tippers, wage stevedores, bulldozers, route sweepers, compactors are been replaced with improvised vehicles as such they breakdown and may tip off littering the roads.
3. 5 Inadequate LEGISLATIONS
Legislations and Torahs are the driving force behind proper waste direction of a state. Nigeria has a broad scope of Torahs and statute laws on white paper but the existent execution is without impact. It is interesting to observe that there are host of Torahs laid down by the Nigerian authorities, and their content is about a plagiaristic content of the United Kingdom ‘s Torahs and ordinances as given by SEPA and EA. some of these Torahs are as follows ;
- Federal Environmental Protection Agency Act of 1988 ( FEPAAct ) . The undermentioned Regulations were made pursuant to the FEPAAct:
- National Environmental Protection ( Effluent Limitation ) Regulations:
- National Environmental Protection ( Pollution Abatement in Industries and Facilities Generating Wastes ) Regulations ; and
- National Environmental Protection ( Management of Solid and Hazardous Wastes ) Regulations.
- Environmental Impact Assessment Act of 1992 ( EIA Act ) .
- Harmful Wastes ( Particular Criminal Provisions etc. ) Act of 1988 ( Harmful Wastes Act ) [ 7 ] .
Content of the Torahs if decently enforced will give a cleaner rural Nigeria but face-to-face is the instance as rural countries suffer neglect due to miss of enforcement of these Acts of the Apostless.
4. 0 Analysis
It is obvious authorities attitude to blow direction in rural Nigeria is careless and merely active engagement by making proper Torahs and ordinances, institutional constructions and enterprises necessary to pull private investing from domestic and international organisations.
Furthermore, reorientation of the rural public is necessary as they lack cognition of the resourcefulness of waste. This will open up their apprehension and relay unto them their moral duty to their wellness and environment in general. Understanding the fact that there are over 250 cultural groups in Nigeria sharing diverse civilizations, authorities demand to guarantee incorporation of every civilization into policy doing so as to guarantee everyone is carried along into an integrated waste direction system.
5. 0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Efficient waste direction in rural Nigeria is accomplishable if bureaucratic constriction and people insensitivity is removed. A determined attempt is required to be after, develop and fund a proper direction system. It will pay off if denationalization of solid waste direction in Nigeria be adopted with ordinance and enforcement provided by authorities. This measure may pave manner for better integrated waste direction system, recognized waste direction industries, wellness, safety and public assistance encouragement, occupation and gross creative activity for the state. Furthermore, puting up of a decently managed waste installation like landfill, biomass energy or recycling works may be another beginning of wealth and occupation creative activity for the public. It is recommended that ministry of waste direction be created and good funded for a lower limit of 10 old ages in order for a well laid foundation of policy and substructures after which it may be placed under the ministry of environment. Besides, the federal authorities holding devolved power to province and local authorities to reexamine and pull off their single waste jobs are to make enabling Torahs to accommodate Nigeria ‘s current economic, societal, cultural and environment so as to transport everyone along. In add-on, carry out waste audits of every establishment from family ( low and high income ) through to all type of fabricating industry in order to hold a baseline database for policy doing purpose. Last, appropriate consciousness programme with a capturing trade name name of “ waste to wealth ” be set up to catch the rural public.
Mentions
- Ogwueleka T. Ch. ( 2009 ) Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics and Management in Nigeria [ 0nline ] Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 173-180 Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www. sid. ir/En/VEWSSID/J_pdf/102620090305. pdf [ 19 March 2010 ]
- Ogbonna D. N. , Ekweozor I. K. E. and Igwe F. U. ( 2008 ) Waste Management: A Tool for Environmental Protection in Nigeria AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment [ Online ] Vol. 31 Iss. 1 pp. 55-57 Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //ambio. allenpress. com/perlserv/ ? request= get-document & A ; doi= 10. 1639 % 2F0044-7447 ( 2002 ) 031 % 5B0055 % 3AWMATFE % 5D2. 0. CO % 3B2 & A ; ct= 1 [ 20 March 2010 ]
- IRC ( 2010 ) Nigeria: Government Approves Environmental Sanitation Policy [ Online ] Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www. irc. nl/page/16315 [ 20 March 2010 ]
- Encyclopedia of the Nations ( 2010 ) Nigeria – Agribusiness [ Online ] Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www. nationsencyclopedia. com/economies/Africa/Nigeria-AGRICULTURE. html [ 19 March 2010 ]
- Unicef ( 2010 ) Sanitation Fact SheetNigeria [ Online ] Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www. unicef. org/wash/files/NigIYSFact. pdf [ 19 March 2010 ]
- BBCNews ( 2001 ) Nigeria ‘s Dirty Business [ Online ] Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/world/africa/1100624. stm [ 19 March 2010 ]
- Oghogho Makinde and Temitayo Adeyoke ( 2007 ) Nigeria: Environment Law In Nigeria [ Online ] Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www. mondaq. com/article. asp? articleid= 53804 [ 18 March 2010 ] hypertext transfer protocol: //www. sid. ir/En/VEWSSID/J_pdf/102620090305. pdf hypertext transfer protocol: //www. thefreelibrary. com/Fuelwood+shortage+and+forest+waste+in+Nigeria.-a0215925217 hypertext transfer protocol: //www. compassnewspaper. com/NG/index. php? option= com_content & A ; view= article & A ; id= 42380: nigeria-is-losing-out-on-waste-management- & A ; catid= 72: belongings & A ; Itemid= 710 hypertext transfer protocol: //www. nayd. org/PDF/Towards_Sustainable_Waste_Management. pdf
