Characterisation of Domestic Solid Waste for the Determination of Waste Management Option in Amassoma, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Abstract

The work reported in this paper involves the characterization of residential solid waste in Amassoma for the determination of household solid waste management option in Amassoma, Bayelsa state in Nigeria. A site-specific study was carried out in order to determine the components and estimate the quantity of residential solid waste generation in the town. Structured questionnaires were applied to collect primary information such as size of households, educational level, monthly income etc. from households. The results from the study was then applied to determine the waste management option for residential waste in Amassoma town The results obtained revealed that the total solid waste generated in Amassoma is 1115.2kg/day from domestic activities. Furthermore, analysis of the sample collected showed that 51.34% of compostable waste (garbage) is generated, 33.62% of combustible waste and 15.04% of incombustible waste is generated in Ammasoma. The study also showed that dumpsite is the current waste disposal option in Amassoma. As Amssoma is a riverine area, the use of landfill for the purpose of solid waste disposal is not a good option because it can lead to eutrophication. Therefore the recommended safe option for solid waste management in Ammasoma is an integrated waste management programme incorporating recycling, composting and incineration with energy recovery.

Keywords: Solid waste generation, Classes of waste, Quantity generated, Method of management