Public awareness and attitudes to waste can affect all stages in the solid waste management
process. This has an impact on household waste storage, waste segregation, recycling, collection
frequency, littering and fly-tipping, willingness to pay for waste management services, and the level
and type of opposition to waste treatment and disposal facilities.
In general, people in Abuja have a poor attitude towards waste management. People who handle
waste are regarded as dirty, poor and inferior, and carrying household waste to bins is often
regarded as a duty for children. Efforts have been made by both the government and the private
sector in Abuja to increase public awareness of solid waste management issues, and there have been
televised discussions on waste management. The side effects of improper waste disposal have been
well publicised. However, most people still do not appreciate that environmental quality is not just
the responsibility of the government and that the individual also has an important role.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS
A number of recommendations are made here, aimed at the development of an integrated and
sustainable system for solid waste management in Abuja.
To minimise costs, an improved waste storage and collection system is required. Each household
should use standard 120-L or 240-L waste bins that are placed outside for ease of collection. In areas
where this is not appropriate, centrally located waste collection points should be established that
are shared by a number of households. The capacity of the private sector to provide reliable waste
collection services, and of the public sector to supervise them, should be strengthened.
Vehicles need to be appropriate to the local conditions, Vehicles specifically designed for carrying
wastes should be used wherever possible to avoid material being lost during transportation. A
programme of regular vehicle maintenance is required and appropriate vehicles should be used.
Training needs to be provided, particularly for drivers operating waste tipping equipment, and more
vehicles will be needed to cope with increasing waste generation.
There needs to be a continuing programme of public awareness concerning waste management that
is particularly aimed at younger Abuja residents. Wastes need to be increasingly sorted at the
source, to separate materials that can be recycled and to reduce the amount of wastes requiring
collection and disposal.
Co-operation is required among communities, the informal sector, the formal waste collectors and
the authorities if recycling rates are going to increase (which would in turn reduce the quantities of
residual waste for collection and disposal, and thus the costs of the formal waste management
system). Recommendations include increased involvement and integration of the informal sector so
the collectors can collect separated materials for recycling from households.
Informal waste collectors could also provide an ‘official’ door-to-door collection service in areas that
are inaccessible to larger vehicles. This would need to be integrated with formal collection services
via waste transfer stations; the collectors should be provided with space at the transfer station to
sort recyclable materials, to avoid the current problem of illegal dumping after separating the
saleable items.
A small charge should be payable to the informal sector for providing recycling and waste collection
services. Markets for recycled materials need to be encouraged both in Abuja and nationally.
A properly sited engineered landfill should be constructed as recommended in the 1979 Master
Plan. Operation of this site should be contracted to the private sector. All wastes dumped along
roads, underneath bridges, in culverts and in drainage channels in Abuja need to be cleared as a
matter of urgency.
Unlike most developed and some developing countries, there is no clear policy in Nigeria on
composting. Sorting would be required to exclude hazardous and non-degradable components like
plastics, metals and glass from the waste and this is where co-operation from householders is
needed to separate degradable waste at source. The removal of subsidies on fertilizers in Nigeria has
created a demand for alternatives, and a market for compost exists. Small-scale composting plants
could enhance the development of low-capital and labour intensive industries that promote
employment, income generation and poverty alleviation in Abuja.
Enforcement of waste management legislation is required, as are a proper policy and planning
framework for waste management. The government must control unauthorized use of land, and this
should be achieved by enforcing relevant clauses in the development guidelines. There is also a need
for accurate population data so that waste management systems and infrastructure can be properly
planned. The Master Plan should be updated (or revived) in terms of its provisions for waste
management infrastructure.
Funding and affordability remain among the major constraints and challenges. An element of
specific user charging will be needed to supplement municipal and national taxes. A system for
making micro-credit available to the informal sector would aid its development as part of an
integrated and sustainable waste management system. Addressing the problems in an integrated
way (as outlined above) would also increase the likelihood of multilateral donor funding for major
investments, such as in the landfill site, transfer stations or new vehicles.