Recycling And Refuse: Alternatives To Waste Management In Nigeria

Recycling And Refuse: Alternatives To Waste Management In Nigeria

Chapiter 1

Introduction

Cities are at the center of a new environmental concern, namely the generation of wastes in greater quantity and complexity. Between 1.7 and 1.9 billion metric tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) are thought to be produced annually.2 Municipal wastes are frequently not properly managed in developing nations because towns and municipalities are unable to keep up with the rapid rate of garbage generation. Low-income nations frequently have waste collection rates under 70%. More than 50% of the waste that is collected is frequently dumped in unregulated landfills, and only 15% is recycled in a safe and ethical manner.

Management of Municipal Solid Waste 2 As a mayor, you could have to make difficult decisions regarding waste management that address both present needs and potential problems that call for strategic and integrated planning and implementation. It can be quite expensive to set up and upgrade facilities for collection, recycling, treatment, and disposal for MSW management. For instance, constructing and running sanitary landfills and incineration facilities involves substantial financial outlays as well as high operation and maintenance costs. Furthermore, the prevalence of the “Not In My Backyard” (NIMBY) mentality among communities makes it harder and harder to find acceptable places for waste treatment plants.

A city’s garbage production will double every ten years if waste growth is 3-5 percent per year and rural-to-urban migration boosts population at a comparable rate.4 Therefore, rather than simply attempting to deal with ever-increasing amounts of waste through treatment and disposal, urban managers are encouraged to pursue the paths of Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) and Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle (3Rs), which place the highest priority on waste prevention, waste reduction, and waste recycling. Such initiatives will assist cities in lowering the cost of trash management for municipal authorities as well as the demand on landfill space. Our world is becoming increasingly scarce. Natural resource raw materials are few, finance resources are frequently insufficient, and acquiring property for eventual disposal is becoming increasingly challenging.

Clearly, if city officials want to offer its residents a clean, healthy, and enjoyable living environment for both the present and the future, they must set policy goals for a resource-efficient, recycle-based society. Although cities and municipalities are primarily responsible for trash management, the case studies cited here demonstrate that many successful waste management initiatives involve a broad variety of stakeholders in their implementation. This sends a loud and clear message to municipalities and communities that they shouldn’t try to handle everything on their own. Instead, doing what they are excellent at and collaborating with other societal segments—such as the commercial sector, local governments, and occasionally the informal sector—in order to increase the scope of waste management services and boost efficiency and effectiveness is the key to success.