Solid Waste Disposal and Management Problems in Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri, North-East Nigeria

One of the greatest challenges facing most urban centers in Nigeria today is how to cope with the increasing volume of solid wastes being generated daily by its populace. Municipal solid waste tend to be one of the most visible and serious environmental problems in Nigerian cities [1]. This is manifested by large refuse heaps which dot most carriageways, streets and surroundings disfiguring the landscape of the environment. These wastes reduce the aesthetic values of our cities and in most cases tend to take over parts of streets, produce foul odours that are injurious to human health as well as serving as breeding grounds for pathogenic organisms [2]. Uncontrolled or illegally dumped waste can constitute a disaster for human health and can lead to environmental degradation [3]. Abila & Kantola [4] indicated that there has been a continuous increase of municipal solid waste production by households, educational institutions and commercial institutions among others. They observed that indiscriminate disposal of municipal waste is increasingly becoming a prominent habit in most urban cities of Nigeria. According to them, municipal waste generators in Nigeria include household, commercial, industrial, agricultural and institutional establishments among others. Increasing rate of urbanization, rapid economic growth and the rise in community living standards has no doubt been responsible for the large volume of wastes being generated daily in Nigeria’s urban centers. Thus, the quantity and rate of solid waste generation in a city is largely a function of population, level of industrialization, socio-economic status and the kinds of commercial activities [5]. According to Ogwueleka [6], Nigeria generates 25 million tonnes of municipal solid waste annually and the waste generation rates ranged from 0.66kg/cap/d in urban areas to 0.44kg/cap/d in rural areas as opposed to 0.7-1.8kg/cap/day in developed countries. Discarded materials generated from domestic and community activities or from industrial, commercial and agricultural operations commonly referred to as solid wastes has remained a major source of concern to government at all levels particularly at this period of dwindling economic resources.