RECYCLING AND REFUSE: ALTERNATIVES TO WASTE MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA

RECYCLING AND REFUSE: ALTERNATIVES TO WASTE MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Cities are at the crossroads of another environmental threat, namely the generation of an increasing quantity and complexity of wastes. The total amount of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generated worldwide is estimated to be between 1.7 and 1.9 billion metric tons. 2 Municipal wastes are frequently mismanaged in developing countries because cities and municipalities are unable to keep up with the accelerated rate of waste production. In low-income countries, waste collection rates are frequently less than 70%. More than half of collected waste is frequently disposed of through uncontrolled landfilling, with the remaining 15% processed through unsafe and informal recycling.

Management of Municipal Solid Waste 2 As Mayor, you may be faced with difficult waste management decisions that must be addressed.

need immediate attention, as well as potential issues that necessitate strategic and integrated planning and implementation. Establishing and improving MSW collection, recycling, treatment, and disposal facilities can be very expensive. Building and operating sanitary landfills and incineration plants, for example, necessitate large investments as well as significant operation and maintenance costs. Furthermore, due to the prevalence of the Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) attitude among communities, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find suitable locations for waste treatment facilities.

Meanwhile, if waste grows at a rate of 3% to 5% per year and rural-urban migration increases a city’s population at a similar rate, waste generation in a city will double every ten years.

4 As a result, urban managers are encouraged to pursue the paths of Integrated Solid

Waste Management (ISWM) and Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle (3Rs) that prioritize waste prevention, waste reduction, and waste recycling over simply treating and disposing of ever-increasing amounts of waste. Such efforts will assist cities in reducing the financial burden on municipal governments for waste management, as well as the pressure on landfill requirements. We live in an increasingly scarce world. Raw materials derived from natural resources are scarce, financial resources are frequently insufficient, and securing land for final disposal is becoming increasingly difficult.

To provide a clean, healthy, and pleasant living environment to its citizens for current and future generations, city authorities must clearly set policy directions aimed at resource efficiency and recycling. Although  Although cities and municipalities are primarily responsible for waste management, many successful cases in waste management involve a diverse range of stakeholders in their implementation, as evidenced by the case studies cited here. This sends a clear message to cities and municipalities that they cannot do everything on their own. Rather, the key to success is to do what they are good at while collaborating with other sectors of society, such as the private sector, communities, and, in some cases, the informal sector, in order to expand waste management services while improving efficiency and effectiveness.