Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria

Rapid development of urban cities and towns in Nigeria calls for proper planning of urban waste management to provide a tolerable environment for the growing population of Nigerian cities.  This paper discusses the characters of solid waste generated in Ado-Ekiti, the capital city of Ekiti State, Nigeria. The area was divided into ten zones based on the number of wards in the city. Households were randomly selected based on the map of the area and demarcation of zones. Questionnaires were designed and administered on the people in the area. Waste was collected from sampled households. The waste was sorted and analyzed. Household sizes sampled ranged from 1 to 11 with an average of about 5 persons per household. Over 50% of the sample population were children with an average of two children per family and a maximum of six. Over 80 percent of the respondents have some form of education ranging from primary to tertiary education. The study revealed that majority (35.5%) households in the study area employ plastic dust bin materials for waste storage. Waste generation in the area is influenced by cultural background, standard of living and economic activities among others. The study  showed that the bulk of the wastes sorted in Ado-Ekiti were of domestic origin. About  1.028 kg/household/day waste was generated. Leaves/vegetable matters; ashes, dust and stones; and food remnants have high percentage weight of 20.4%, 16.6% and 12.3% respectively. Other components are paper (10.2%), plastic (8.2%), and tin cans (6.1%). The least of all the waste generated comes from bones which was 1.2% of the sample. Further analysis showed that the weights of non biodegradable wastes collected from the sampled areas were less than the weights of biodegradable wastes. The study suggests that the municipal solid waste stream in a typical Nigerian city at point of disposal is high in putrescible organic content.  The study suggests that as urban environmental problems worsen in developing countries, non-conventional approaches to urban pressure points like waste management will have to be adopted.