CHARACTERIZATION OF SOURCE-SEPARATED SOLID WASTES AND COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION FOR CENTRALIZED CYCLING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, NIGERIA

Abstract

Improper management of solid wastes is a growing public health problem in Nigeria. Source separation of solid wastes among communities for the recycling is a fairIy new concept in waste management in Nigeria. Currently, none of the components of solid wastes generated, in University of lbadan (UI) is recycled and the adoption of source separation of waste for recycling depends upon mobilization of the residents. This study characterized the waste and assessed the impact or mobilization on the practices waste separation for recycling among selected residential areas atilt University. The study was exploratory in design with an interventional component. Three hundred and ten residents or were selected by a three-stage sampling procedure from Senior Staff housing (SSH) 58, Junior Staff Housing (JSH) 182, and Student's hostel (SH) 7O. Semi — structured questionnaire was used to assess the practices of %s ante separation at baseline. An intervention was carried out through establishing neighbourhood Environmental Action Team (NEAT) among a subset of participants including: 20 households in SSH. 40 households in JSM and 8 cleaners in the SH. They were mobilised in a week - training to separate their household solid wastes into coded bags provided for biodegradable and non - biodegradable components, The separation was carried out by the participants for a period of three months after which a post-intervention questionnaire was administered to assess the impact of mobilization on their practices. Practice stores %% were computed based on response to a six - item practice categorical variables on the questionnaire and the 75 percentile cut - off was used to categorize participants into good and poor practices. The non- biodegradable wastes were physically characterized into nylon, plastic, metal, glass while the biodegradable wastes were chemically analyzed for nitrogen, carbon, phosphorus, potassium and heavy metals using standard methods. The components of solid waste generated were weighed and computed for three months and the data generated was analyzed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA. The mean age of respondents was 27± 10.9 years and 52.0% were females. The proportion of participants with good practice at baseline and after intervention was. 33.5%, 67.5% in JSH,18.2%-85.0% in SSH, 31.3%-41% in SH, (p<0.05). The mean monthly recyclable waste is characterized in the three locations revealed that Kitchen waste (biodegradable) were 1019.26± 10.39 Kg, nylon 130.41± 3.47 Kg, paper 156.26± 1.52 Kg, plastics 136.84±1.83 Kg, glass 81.05±3.55 Kg and metal 108.14±1.43 Kg. JSH generated the highest proportion of Nylon (48.0%), Plastic (48.0), and Metal (57.0%) than SSH and SH (p<0.05). The chemical characterization of the kitchen wastes showed the following components pH-6.54±0.08. Nitrogen- 1. 48± 0.12%. Carbon-49.21±0.88%, Phosphrus-0. 19 ± 0.05%. Potassium-0.21 ± 014%. Lead-3.60± 0.68 mg/Kg. Cadmium-1.11 ± 0.56 mg/Kg, Nickel- 21.36± 3.76 mg/Kg. When exposed to adequate mobilization, the Ul residents engaged in effective source separation of waste. The characterization of solid waste showed a large fraction of recyclables in the waste stream. Adequate structures should he put in place for suitable waste management on campus.