THE IMPACT OF LANDFILL DIVERSION IN NIGERIA

IMPACT OF LANDFILL DIVERSION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This research examines the impact of land fill diversion and their impact on Nigeria. This has some socio economic and political implications on sustainable development, while the management of waste is a matter of national and international concern. Recent events in major cities of world have shown that the problems of waste management have become a “monster” that has aborted most efforts made by international, federal governments, and state city authorities. It has been established that the process of waste management contributes to increasing generation of green house gases that causes climate change and ozone layer depletion.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background of the study

The cities of third world countries are growing at very rapid rates compared to those in the developed nations. For instance, a UN-Habitat report observed that Africa is the fastest urbanizing continent having cities like Cairo, Lagos, Nairobi, Kinshasa among others growing at fast rates that would make them triple their current sizes by the year 2050 (UN-Habitat, 2010). Such high rate of growth of cities has implications for the provision of urban infrastructural services to prevent the proliferation of urban slum. The increasing growth of cities, therefore, has implications for municipal waste management among other social services required in the urban communities. Data from many of the cities shows inadequacy in urban social services like shelter, provision of safe drinking water and efficient management of solid wastes. The cities are therefore littered with ‘mountains’ of rubbish in landfills and open (in most cases illegal) waste dumps which are covered with flies and thus serve as breeding grounds for rodents and mosquitoes which are carriers of diseases. In a bid to examine the link between environmental pollution arising from waste dumps and public health, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) conducted a pilot study of the Dandora Waste Dump in African. The study, as tentative as it was, showed that a link exists between the two. The extensive tests carried out on the soil and water around the dump site in comparison with samples from other sites as well as medical tests carried out on humans living around the dumpsite shows evidence of infections from water, land and air pollution. The leachates generated in the landfills and open dumpsites are sources of pollution which is inimical to public health (UNEP, undated). The conclusion from this and other studies has led to an increasing interest of researchers in the studies relating to several aspects of municipal solid waste management in urban cities of many nations (Yongsi, et al, 2008; Boadi and Kuitunen, 2005; Aluko and Sridhar 2005; Nwanta 2010; Aatamila et. al. 2010, among others).

IMPACT OF LANDFILL DIVERSION IN NIGERIA