Community waste management and its health impact on Obalende and Lafiaji Villages of Lagos Island

Abstract

Managing municipal solid waste in cities has become a serious challenge which could result in the accumulation of heavy metals in the environment. Against this background, the municipal solid waste management practices in peri-urban communities (Obalende and Lafiaji Village) of Lagos Island and the impact of heavy metals in soil were studied. This study aims at examining the present municipal waste management practices in Lagos Islandandhowthey can beimproved upon. Random sampling was used to administer 100 questionnaires to household while the different heavy metal concentrations in the soil samples were determined using Buck 200 Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). About 58 % of the respondents are aware of solid waste management while LAWMA (50%) and Cart pushers (40%) were the two main options for waste disposal. The wastes were mainly composed of food wastes, plastics/pet bottles and nylon. Although majority of the respondents (67%) have a waste bin/bag assigned to their houses, about 74% do not sort their wastes. The concentrations of the heavy metals (Co, Zn, Ni, and Mn) in the soil samples were higher in Obalende and Lafiaji village, where wastes were dumped indiscriminately on roadsides. SWOT analysis revealed the need for improving environmental awareness in order to minimize the threat of low sorting of wastes. Also, opportunities exist for recycling plastics/pet bottles and nylon while wastes from food materials could benefit agriculture through composing. This study suggests that more environmental awareness, policies and better administration are needed to improve the status of waste management in peri-urban communities of Lagos Island.