ASSESSING SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN LOKOJA, NIGERIA

Abstract

Waste management has become a common issue of discourse among individuals, groups and governments. This study which assessed urban solid waste management in Kogi state with focus on Lokoja urban specifically sought to find out why indiscriminate solid waste disposal/dumps has persisted in Lokoja urban, investigate the measures put in place to curtail the tide and ascertain the extent to which indiscriminate waste disposal affects people’s health and environment. Two null hypotheses were formulated and Human Capital Theory was adopted as the theoretical framework. The study used survey design whereby data were collected from the sample considered to be representative of the population. Taro Yameni’s formula was applied to reduce the initial population of 195,261 to a smaller researchable size of 399 while data were collected through structured questionnaire. The data collected were presented in tables containing frequencies of the responses and their corresponding percentages. The two hypotheses of the study were tested using chi-square (X2) statistical tool and the result of the analyses revealed that: there is currently no government approved dumpsites in Lokoja metropolis, most communicable diseases are contracted from dirty environment, among others. The implications are that most households will soon be cut off by flood arising from the blockage of water channels, some streets and roads will be blocked by heaps of wastes and more epidemics will be contracted by the people if nothing urgent was done. The study concluded that, the Kogi State Environmental Protection Agency (KGSEPA) currently have no required manpower, technical skills and competences to curtail the tide of waste and therefore made the following recommendations: Kogi state government should strengthen the already established departments of Environmental in Kogi State polytechnic (KSP) and the School of Health Technology, Iddah, by providing and equipping them with modern waste management equipment for students to be exposed to practical methods of waste management, Government should contract foreign-based private firm through Public-Private- Partnership (PPP) arrangement to establish waste management industry in Kogi state, immediate provision of permanent waste dumpsites by the government, among others.