Solid Waste Generation and Disposal in Owerri Municipality, Imo State, Nigeria

Solid waste management remains one of the major problems in urban areas in Nigeria. This study focused on solid waste generation and disposal in Owerri Municipality. The crosssectional study was carried out in the three major districts, selected through a systematic random sampling from nine districts of the town. A total of 300 copies of a structured questionnaire containing questions on study variables was distributed among subjects and only 210 correctly filled copies were used for the study. Data on the quantity of wastes generated was collected for a period of seven days; each subject was given a plastic bag into which all waste generated each day was put, collected and measured. Samples of the waste generated were sorted out, categorized and weighed. The techniques of waste disposal were obtained through observation, interviews and responses from the questionnaire. Results obtained show the population characteristics of respondents. The average quantity of solid waste generated in the town was 0.58kg per capita per day; 71% of waste generated were made up of biodegradables, plastics (11.9%), paper (11.3%), bottles (3.3%), metals (2.3%) and miscellaneous (2.0%). The methods of waste disposal include open dumping (70.4%), open burning (10.8%) dumping at river banks (5.5%) and others (2.8%). The study recommended that due to high percentage of putrescible materials contained in the waste generated, the reactor system of composting should be adopted for their treatment due to its flexibility, adaptability, modularity, costeffectiveness and eco-friendliness