Characteristic and Composition of Household Solid Wastes from Lapai Town, Niger state, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the quantity and composition of solid wastes generated by some households in Lapai. Point source daily  collection of household wastes from selected homes that were initially identified and categorised as low income or high income households was  carried out for five weeks. The collected wastes were weighed and sorted into vegetables, plastics, paper, metal, clothes, glass, wood and others.  The average daily solid wastes per household and the estimated daily wastes generated in Lapai were calculated. From the results obtained, an  estimated 93.88 tons of domestic solid wastes were generated daily in Lapai town. Of these, 44% were organic wastes, 26% were mixture of sand,  ash and dust; while 30% were recyclable matter which can be sold to generate income for the community, if proper waste management policies are  put in place. The results showed that the amount of wastes to be discarded in Lapai town can be reduced approximately to 26% of the total  generated waste if at the point source segregation is encouraged.