THE PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES OF ENUGU STATE WASTE MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY (ESWAMA)

ABSTRACT

Waste management in Enugu state has become ineffective in recent time. People often dump their  waste  indiscriminately  everywhere,  thereby  exposing  the  inhabitants  of  the  area  to dangerous diseases due to the mess caused by the waste. It is because of the above mentioned problem that this research project is carried out. The purpose of this  research project, the Prospects and Challenges of Enugu State Waste Management  Authority (ESWAMA), are: to identify the challenges encountered by ESWAMA in managing waste, to evaluate the waste disposal systems of ESWAMA, and identify the effects of waste disposal management on the environment and on the people’s health.  The data used in this study were obtained from both primary and secondary sources. The population of the study was 209. Out of this number,  a sample  size  of 137  was  obtained,  using  Taro  Yamane  formula.  The  research instruments  usedwere  questionnaire  and interview  guide. Descriptive  research design  was used in this study. Chi-square statistical method was used to test the hypotheses. The findings from the study reveal that: poor management and inadequate waste disposal facilities are the challenges facing ESWAMA in managing wastes in Enugu; hog feeding, open dumping, incineration, resources recovering, composition and pyrolysis are the waste disposal systemof ESWAMA that helps it in managing waste effectively; the identified positive effect of waste management in Enugu state had brought about clean environment and better health condition of the people in Enugu state. Based on the findings, the researcherconcluded that although the use of waste disposal systemsby ESWAMA  had contributed  to improvement  in waste management  in the state, and this has  consequently brought about clean environment  and better  health  condition  of  the  people,  poor  management  and  insufficient  waste  disposal facilities   still   remain   the    major   challenges   confronting   ESWAMA   negatively.The researcherrecommended  that: government  should  increase  fund allocation  to ESWAMA, competent  persons  should  be  given  managerial  functions  to  perform  and  corrupt  people should be removed from the office. Strong internal control should be put in place and monthly sanitation exercise should be kept, order to sustain the clean environment and better  health condition of the people.

CHAPTER ONE

  INTRODUCTION

1.1      BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Waste generation and disposal, according to Flaomo (1995), are part of the functions of any developing  economy.  Waste,  both  from  domestic  and  commercial  sources  has   grown significantly in the society in the past decade. Each time an individual shops at the store and open  market,  he  contributes  to  the  mountain  of  waste.  Production  of  waste  amounts  to millions  of tons.  The management  of waste  in Nigeria  in general  and in Enugu  state  in particular  has become a fundamental  issue that needs to be  addressed  in order to achieve desired success. The problem of waste management is the deficient of proper and adequate policies,  plain  legislation,   and  an  environmentally  stimulated   and  enlightened   public. Government  policies  on  the  environment  are  peace-meal  where  they  exist,  and  poorly implemented.  Public  enlightenment  programmes  lacked  the needed  courage,  intensity and continuity to correct a pathetic  attitude towards the environment.  The Federal Ministry of Housing and Environment FMHE (1983), observed that the activities of the environmental authorities have been hampered by poor funding, inadequate facilities and human resources, inappropriate  technology.  Successful  waste  management  in  Nigeria  requires  a  holistic programme that will integrate all the technical, economical, socio-cultural and psychological factors that are often ignored in waste management exercise.

However, there is the need for everybody to join hands inmanagement  of solid and  liquid waste in Enugu  state through ensuring a clean and sustainable  environment  for  the good health and well-being of the people of the state.

Flaomo (1995), further noted that “there is a clear need for current approach of waste disposal that is focused on municipalities  and uses high energy/ technology to move  towards waste processing and waste recycling. (This involves public – private sectors partnership, aiming for eventual waste minimization and prevention of the harmful effect of waste on man and the environment). The system of waste salvaging, reclamation andrecyclingis fast gaining ground.

Environmental sanitation,according to Mccabe (1961),is perhaps the most obvious element in environmental management but is certainly not the most important. Its significance lies in its effectiveness in raising and maintaining environment, healthy and hygienic for the needs and standards of the present. Waste generation and its management has become a major issue in

urban areas in Nigeria such as in Enugu city because of increasing gap between the prolific level of generation and the limited technology and capacity of evacuation. Mark, in (Satellite Newspaper of September 5, 1991:5), states that “a clean environment is considered important by many Nigerians and this is the pillar for government primary programmes on the need to achieve health for all by the year 2000, together with the world health. There are still lapses here and  there.  The objective  gave rise to  the  need  for environmental  sanitation  and  its importance to human existence as illness is no respecter of persons.

The management of waste is a matter of national and international concern. The urban areas experience continuous growth which contributes to enormous generation of solid and liquid waste. There is no doubt that a dirty environment  affects the standard of  living, aesthetic sensibilities,  heath of the people and thus the quality of their lives.The  need for a healthy environment  is common  to all people;  it cuts across boundaries  of  occupation,  class and politics. Apparently some of these environmental problems could be solved by providing a standard refuse disposal and drainage.

Managing waste involves collection, keeping, treating and disposing of waste in such a way that can make them not to be harmful to human beings and animals as well as the ecology and environment (Adeniji, 1989). Waste management  has become an issue of  great concern in Nigeria today. It looks as if the nation is losing the battle against the harmful consequences of unguided waste and the attainment of clean and healthy environment.

It is common sight in Nigeria and in Enugu state in particular, to see heaps of festering waste dumps in various parts of the city. Efforts have been made by past and present administrations in the state to achieve sustainable waste management  in the state.  These  efforts led to the establishment of the waste management agency known as Enugu  State Waste Management Authority (ESWAMA) in 2004. The agency was set  up to replace the defunct Enugu State Environmental Protection Agency (ENSEPA), which failed to meet the challenges of modern day waste management.This repositioning is meant to enable it give better service delivery and  to  restore  the  past  glory  of  Enugu  State  as  a  very  clean  city through  better  waste management.

ESWAMA is empowered to develop and implement policies on the management of solid and liquid  wastes,  which  would  promote  the  health  and  well-  being  of  the  people.   The responsibilities  assigned to ESWAMA at inception included: evacuation and prevention of

refuse build-up, clearance of public markets of wastes, and ensuring the cleanliness of major

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highways and streets. Others are: provision of counseling to private refuse operators on waste management,  establishment  of performance  standards on waste management  activities and identification of sites for development of waste management (The Connect Africa Magazine,

22 October  2013).  The residents  of the city are required  to pay approved  sanitation  rate through approved banks in the city, whenever they receive demand notices. Last Saturday of every month is designated by government as a sanitation day in the state.

HISTORICAL ORIGIN OF WASTE MANAGEMENT

Historically, the problems of waste management were made prominent during the industrial Revolution  in Great  Britain  in 1845.  Various  legislations  concerning  the  management  of waste and basic sanitation were enacted in England in other to promote healthy environment and enhance Man’s standard of living.

The waste management effort of Nigerian government dates back to the colonial era, with the formation  of Lagos  Executive  Development  Board of 1928,  the  creation  of  sanitation  of Boards and task forces, the creation of Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) and the creation of National Orientation Agency (NOA), with a view to ensure better standard of living of Nigerians. Over the past twenty years, Nigeria has witnessed rapid economic growth. As we all know, “growth does not appear everywhere at the same time; it manifests itself in points  or  poles  of  growth;  with  variable  terminal effects  for  the  economy  as  a whole”. Perrout,(1950).  Certain regions of the  nation therefor became better favored than others so that as a consequence, there was tremendous urban growth with a shift in development from rural to urban areas. This  growth in population  has given rise to the rising mountains  of garbage which now characterize most of our towns and cities. Refuse collection and disposal have become the most glaring problem in our urban area which had defied solutions by both military and the civilian administrators  since Nigeria’s independence.  In fact, this problem with its impacts on human life and property value in Nigeria has become increasingly worse and, to the critical observer, not much would seem to have been achieved in spite of  huge investment of financial resources. Again the volume of waste generated by the populace in any city, town or village is directly related to the population density Falomo, (1995). Lagos is a case in point where two-thirds  of her gutters  have become  “open  sesame  for dumping grounds, and defecation places. Many gutters in Mushin,  Ajegunele, Idi Araba to mention only notorious cases, are not cleared for years Osuji, (1994).

The mental attitude of our Urban dwellers also constitutes a major constraints to the effective implementation  of  existing  waste  management  polices  of  government.   Falomo  (1995) identified two broad categories of Nigeria Urban populace on the basis of their mental attitude viz. the unconcerned elites who have an “out of sight, out of mind’ attitudes piles of waste which they drive pass on the streets en-route their offices and the ignorant poor who have an attitude of helpless resignation to living with the filth. At the end, nobody does anything with regard  to motivating  the waste disposal  authorities  into  action and the problem  therefore lingers on. Part of the problem of or challenges of waste management in Nigeria Urban areas are due to poor attitude exhibited by staff of the refuse disposal authorities. Many people have often complained of having been compelled by law to remove waste from drains, gutters and others from their general surroundings; only to find the pile still constituting an eyesore two weeks later, or until the next rain storm washes the pile rubbish back into the open drains. As a result,  they have chosen  to  be doing compulsory  sanitation  exercise  conducted  once  a month. This negligence on the part of the government authorities is seen in the case of Lagos where in 1 980s, three fancy giant incinerators were built and nobody seemed to know how to use  them.  The  site  of  these  incinerators  at  Isolo  and  Oshodi-Oworonsoki  has  become traditional  dump  sites  and no  attempt  is made  for further  treatment  of the  wastes  Osuji, (1994).

A disturbing  matter  about  waste  management  problem  is that  its effectiveness  is  mostly impacted  on the poor urban dwellers.  While  the affluent  urban dwellers  for  instance  are capable of insulating themselves from the hazards of the environment by creating their own sanitized  and comfortable  Micro-environment,  which  include  but  not  limited  to, fully air conditioned  home,  clean,  filtered  and  uninterrupted  suppliers  of  drinking  water,  regular collection of refused from their immediate surroundings, the poor masses are allowed to live and die in an environment that by and large is the cause of their early death.

Solid wastes have been a result of Man’s activities from his earliest civilization, made more prominent during the industrial revolution, intensified by technological developments of the twentieth century and given political and economic exposure by  the passage of the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965. Solid wastes were given national attention with the passage of the solid waste disposal Act by the 89th congress as  Public Law. The term “Solid waste” means refuse and other discarded solid materials,  including solid waste material, resulting from industrial, commercial, and agricultural operations and from community activities, but

does  not  include  solids  or  dissolved  materials  in  domestic  savage  or  other  significant pollutants in waste resources, such as silt, dissolved or suspended solids in industrial waste water  effluent,  dissolved  materials,  in  irrigation  return  flows  or  other  common  water pollutants.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

In Enugu and many urban and rural cities in Nigeria, waste management and procedure of waste disposal have been ineffective. Waste is often indiscriminately dumped in open plots of land and particularly along the roads and streets. Some of the affected streets are sometimes impassable for several weeks or months as a consequence. The entire people living around the affected areas hardly stay confortable in their houses due to offensive  stench that emanates from these refuse dumps. All the people living in such areas are often exposed to and may be affected by any type of disease the mess might cause. Those living very close to the area are the most affected and most vulnerable to diseases such as: cholera, typhoid, malaria etc. what are the causes of this poor management of waste in Enugu state? What are the challenges and prospects from Enugu state waste management authority? How would government motivate ESWAMA  to perform its duty with  dedicated  effort and without  much stress? It is these problems that gave rise to this study.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The specific objectives of the study include the following:

1)  To   identify   the   challenges   encountered   by  Enugu   State   Waste   Management

(ESWAMA) in managing waste in Enugu.

2)  To evaluate the waste disposal systems of ESWAMA

3)  To  identify  the  effects  of  waste  disposal  on  the  peoples’  health  and  on   the environment.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The researcher poses the following research questions:

1)  To what extent do the identified challenges encountered by ESWAMA influence waste management system in Enugu state?

2)  How   does   the  waste   disposal   system   of  ESWAMA   influence   the   waste management system in Enugu state?

3)  To what extent  do the  identified  effects of waste management  in Enugu  state influence the environment and peoples’ health?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

For the purpose of the study, the following research hypotheses were formulated:

1) H0: poor waste management and insufficient waste disposal facilities challenges encountered by ESWAMA in Enugu state, to a large extent do not influence waste management negatively.

H1: poor waste management and insufficient waste disposal facilities challenges encountered  by ESWAMA  in  Enugu  state,  to  a  large  extent  influence  waste management negatively.

2) H0: hog feeding, open dumping, incineration, resources recovering, composition and pyrolysisare  not the disposal systems of ESWAMA that  help in managing waste effectively in Enugu state.

H1: hog feeding, open dumping, incineration,  resources recovering,  composition and pyrolysis are the disposal systems of ESWAMA that help in managing waste effectively in Enugu state.

4)  H0: the identified  effects of waste management in Enugu state has notbrought about  clean  environment  and  better  health  condition  of the  people  in  Enugu, whichare the prospects of waste management in Enugu state.

H1: the identified effects of waste management in Enugu state hasbrought about clean environment and better health condition of the people in Enugu state, which are the prospects of waste management in Enugu state.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The research focuses on the challenges encountered  by ESWAMA  in managing  waste  in Enugu,  waste disposal  system  of ESWAMA  and prospects  from waste  management.  The scope of this study comprises: area scope, geographical scope, and time scope.

a)  Area Scope:the researcher limits the area of this study to the prospects and challenges of Enugu State Waste Management Authority (ESWAMA) in managing waste.

b)  Geographical Scope:this study was carried out at Enugu metropolis in Enugu  state

Nigeria.

c)  Time Scope:  the researcher  had a very limited  time within which to conduct  this research and write the project report, while at the same time attend to other pressing academic and personal problems

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The  first  problem  encountered  by  the  researcher  in  the  course  of  the  research  is  the uncooperative attitude of the respondents that were approached during data collection. Some of them felt that they have no financial gain to derive from the study.  Some responded to questions with reservations.

Secondly, the fact that the data are being generated from only one organization (ESWAMA)

and so the findings are limited to the organization alone.

Thirdly, lack of money is also another limitation. Being a non-working student, the researcher had very limited fund for transportation to and from ESWAMA office for data collection and for typing and printing the project.

1.8 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study is significant in many respects:

Firstly, it will help organizations and individuals to know about waste disposal systems and appreciate the importance of waste management to their environment and peoples’ health.

Secondly, it will be very valuable to any student who wants to carry out a study on the field of environmental and waste management as it will serve as a reference point to them.

Thirdly, it will help organizations as well as various individuals to know much about and how the wastes should be put into use.

1.9 DEFINITON OF OPERATIONAL TERMS

The operational terms used in this study are defined here by the researcher, in order to give the reader of this work the exact meaning adopted in this study. This is because some words are used in peculiar or specialized ways. They are as follows:

1) SEWAGE:

These are waste substances that are produced by human body such human faeces and urine, as well as the effluents from the bath and kitchen and industrial waste waterthat are carried away from factories and houses through special pipes.

2) SOLID WASTE:

These are classified into garbage and rubbish.

a) Garbage:these are putrefied waste food like: fruits, vegetable, meat, etc.

b) Rubbish: these are non-perishable wastes that are combustible or non- combustible such as: papers, woods, cloths, polythene, iron, glasses, ceramics, etc.

3) GASEOUS WASTE:

These are waste generated from the house-holds domestic activities and industrial sites that are gaseous in nature. They also include the following: sulphide(s), carbon dioxide, etc.

4) HAZARDOUS WASTE:

These are the by-products that fit into hazardous waste, which can be classified into: radio- active, chemical, biological, flammable and explosive substances.

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