Assessment of Solid Waste Disposal in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

The problem of municipal waste is a challenge of global proportion occasioned by exponentially increasing population, rapid urbanization, industrialization, inefficient utilization of natural resources, lack of citizen awareness regarding the environmentally adequate disposal of waste, consumption, socioeconomic status (lifestyle), and others. This study aimed to assess solid waste disposal practices in Yenagoa metropolis, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive and cross-sectional approach where multi-stage sampling was applied to select the sample communities by a simple random sampling method and the cluster areas for data collection by a cluster sampling method. The study revealed that the residents had a good awareness of 229 (95.4%) of waste management practices. About 86.7% of respondents keep their wastes in the bin while 6.3%, 5.0% and 2.1% practiced burning, throwing into the river or along the roads and keeping in the backyard respectively. Waste collection by the sanitation authority was relatively high (70.4%) in some locations in comparison to areas where wastes were never removed (22.1%). The residents’ attitude towards solid waste disposal was generally good. However, the sanitation level was strongly constrained by limitations on the part of the sanitation authority. The sanitation authority does not cover all areas in the city because of manpower and equipment shortage. Yenagoa is a small city with most areas unplanned and having so many shanties. All wastes in the city are collected without sorting or recycling. The sanitation can be improved if the government would provide at subsidized cost, waste disposal materials such as polythene bags and plastic bins for the residents. More waste collection points should be sited to ease disposal and must be evacuated on a timely basis.