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Article
Publication date: 12 January 2015

Status of municipal solid waste generation and disposal in Nigeria

Charles Chidozie Nnaji

This paper examined the current status of municipal solid waste management across Nigeria. The core aspects covered are generation, characterization, collection…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper examined the current status of municipal solid waste management across Nigeria. The core aspects covered are generation, characterization, collection, scavenging, open dumping, disposal and environmental implications of poor solid waste management. The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive overview of the current state of municipal solid waste management in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was executed by a combination of an extensive literature search and field study. Solid waste generation rates for 31 Nigerian cities were obtained from literature. In addition, characteristics of municipal solid waste from 26 Nigerian cities were also obtained from literature. Other aspects such as characterization of solid waste obtained from final dumpsite and heavy metals accumulation in solid waste dumpsites were undertaken first hand.

Findings

Solid waste generation rate was found to vary from 0.13 kg/capita/day in Ogbomosho to 0.71 kg/capita/day in Ado-Ekiti. Factors affecting solid waste generation rates were identified. Typically, food waste was found to constitute close to 50 percent of overall municipal solid waste in Nigerian cities. This study shows that the rate of generation of plastics, water proof materials and diapers has assumed an upward trend. Due to the dysfunctional state of many municipal waste management authorities, many cities have been overrun by open dumps. For instance, more than 50 percent of residents of Maiduguri in northern Nigeria and Ughelli in southern Nigeria dispose of their waste in open dumps. Indiscriminate disposal of waste has also resulted in the preponderance of toxic heavy metals in agricultural soils and consequent bioaccumulation in plants as well as groundwater contamination.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation of this research is municipal waste management authorities do not have relevant data. Hence, there was heavy reliance on published materials. The status of waste management in Nigeria is very deplorable and therefore poses serious threats to public and environmental health. There is urgent need for both government and individuals to adopt holistic and sustainable waste management strategies in order to safeguard public/environmental health.

Practical implications

Findings from this paper can form a veritable resource for the formulation and implementation of sustainable municipal solid waste management framework and strategies in Nigeria.

Originality/value

While most studies on municipal solid waste management in Nigeria are focussed on selected cities of interest, this particular study cuts across most cities of Nigeria in order to present a broader and holistic view of municipal solid waste management in Nigeria. The paper has also unraveled core municipal solid waste management challenges facing Nigerian cities.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 26 no. 1
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/MEQ-08-2013-0092
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

  • Disposal
  • Open dumps
  • Solid waste
  • Waste characterization
  • Waste generation
  • Waste management

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Article
Publication date: 5 September 2016

Transparency and accountability lost?: Full cost accounting reporting in the Swedish municipal solid waste business

Mattias Haraldsson

The aim of this paper is to explore the causes of variations in financial accounting and disclosure practices in a municipal setting highly influenced by governance…

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to explore the causes of variations in financial accounting and disclosure practices in a municipal setting highly influenced by governance reforms – the Swedish municipal waste management sector. This focus is motivated by the claim that recent governance reforms have made the organization of public services delivery more diversified and fragmented, which may have had a negative effect on transparency and accountability.

Design/methodology/approach

To document the accounting and disclosure practices of the Swedish solid waste management organizations, a questionnaire approach was selected. The study uses a conceptual theoretical framework that complements the basic variables considered to influence public sector financial accounting and disclosure practices with factors such as competition and municipal governance forms.

Findings

The results show that compliance accounting and disclosure transparency to some extent have different antecedents and that the external environment, including market competition, size and economic input, influences both. The governance forms, on the other hand, only influenced compliance accounting (negatively and positively) and not the willingness to disclose information in general. The overall conclusion is that changes to the economic and institutional context mixed with different municipal governance forms introduces a multiplicity of forces that makes the accounting practices themselves diversified and fragmented and not necessarily only in a “negative” direction.

Practical implications

From a policy perspective the results indicate that the changing institutional and organizational environment has not been matched by attention to, and regulation of, reporting structures that secure external vertical accountability processes. The general implication for future regulations should therefore be to recognize the influence of different economic and institutional forces and develop accountability models that enable and preserve the benefits of governance reform initiatives without losing accountability and transparency.

Originality/value

Few prior quantitative studies have theoretically related municipal accounting and disclosure practices to factors such as market competition and popular municipal governance forms (municipal corporation, regional cooperation, outsourcing, etc.). Knowledge of how reforms might influence municipal accounting practices might benefit future policy decisions on accountability models with aim of enable and preserve the benefits of governance reform initiatives without losing accountability and transparency.

Details

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JAOC-01-2015-0006
ISSN: 1832-5912

Keywords

  • Public sector accounting
  • Waste management
  • Public sector reform
  • Public sector accountability

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Article
Publication date: 1 March 1991

The impact of plastics on the environment

JoAnn DeVries

In 1987, Campbell Soup Company introduced the Souper Combo, a line of frozen soup and sandwiches. Melvin Druin, vice‐president for packaging, called it “the perfect…

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Abstract

In 1987, Campbell Soup Company introduced the Souper Combo, a line of frozen soup and sandwiches. Melvin Druin, vice‐president for packaging, called it “the perfect combination of old‐fashioned good taste and today's convenience. No mess. No fuss. Easy to use. All you have to do is clean your spoon. Everything else just throw away.” Unfortunately, the multi‐layered plastic‐coated packaging does not just disappear when thrown away. Plastics packaging, particularly from convenience products, has become a waste disposal nightmare. Garbage, an environmental magazine, gave the Souper Combo an “in the dumpster” award, saying, “It's precisely the kind of product that's created the municipal landfill monster.”

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/eb049133
ISSN: 0090-7324

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Article
Publication date: 3 June 2014

Assessment of different methods of treatment for an integrated municipal waste management for an Algerian city

Linda Sefouhi, Mehdi Kalla and Lylia Bahmed

– The purpose of this paper is to provide suitable solutions to the management system of the municipal solid waste in an Algerian city.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide suitable solutions to the management system of the municipal solid waste in an Algerian city.

Design/methodology/approach

The adopted approach focussed on the evaluation of different methods concerning the Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM), by analyzing methods of solid waste management hierarchy which constitutes appropriate tools in the MSWM.

Findings

One pillar of sustainable solid waste management is strategic planning, and links to guidance are provided. Another pillar is cost analysis of solid waste options, and links to useful analytical tools are also provided.

Research limitations/implications

This research has limitations that the paper plans to study in perspective: assessment of citizen perception of waste and its practical implications in the management of municipal solid waste as well as involvements of other agents or structures.

Practical implications

Results investigations conducted in this study allows to the municipality for solving city problems of MSW with priority to the environmental and public health protection.

Originality/value

The interest is carried, here, with the success of the different methods concerning the solid waste management hierarchy, which conditions mainly the success of the improvement of the waste management system.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/MEQ-01-2013-0008
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

  • Sustainable development
  • Recycling
  • Municipal solid waste
  • Energy recovery
  • Solid waste
  • Management hierarchy
  • Landfilling

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Article
Publication date: 20 April 2010

Towards sustainable municipal solid waste management in Allahabad City

S. Saxena, R.K. Srivastava and A.B. Samaddar

This paper aims to describe the present waste management scenario in the city of Allahabad listing the gaps in the waste management system.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to describe the present waste management scenario in the city of Allahabad listing the gaps in the waste management system.

Design/methodology/approach

The research work was divided into three stages. The first stage was the collection of background data regarding municipal solid waste management systems such as waste generation, waste collection, treatment and disposal methods. The second stage involved data organization and data analysis. The third stage provided the conceptual framework that has been developed for MSW management, and finally a sustainable and suitable waste management option was provided for improving the MSW management in Allahabad.

Findings

The existing solid waste management approach in the city is highly unprofessional and lacking in scientific methodologies. There is neither proper collection nor proper treatment and disposal of waste. Most of the waste is dumped in low lying areas leading to pollution of land, air and water due to leachate generation.

Practical implications

There is need to develop a correct and detailed database of waste generation, collection and treatment system in various wards of Allahabad so that required manpower, equipments and other services can be estimated for designing a proper waste collection, treatment and disposal system. No site for engineered landfill has been identified as per the site selection criteria provided by Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. The suggestions in this paper have been made on the basis of data collected, actual observations and analysis.

Originality/value

The work identifies the gap in the present solid waste management system of Allahabad City.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 21 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/14777831011036876
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

  • Waste management
  • Sustainable development
  • Recycling
  • Health and safety
  • Urban communities
  • India

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Article
Publication date: 1 May 1990

Waste Management: A Systems Perspective

Sushil

A systems perspective of waste management allows an integratedapproach not only to the five basic functional elements of wastemanagement itself (generation, reduction…

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Abstract

A systems perspective of waste management allows an integrated approach not only to the five basic functional elements of waste management itself (generation, reduction, collection, recycling, disposal), but to the problems arising at the interfaces with the management of energy, nature conservation, environmental protection, economic factors like unemployment and productivity, etc. This monograph separately describes present practices and the problems to be solved in each of the functional areas of waste management and at the important interfaces. Strategies for more efficient control are then proposed from a systems perspective. Systematic and objective means of solving problems become possible leading to optimal management and a positive contribution to economic development, not least through resource conservation. India is the particular context within which waste generation and management are discussed. In considering waste disposal techniques, special attention is given to sewage and radioactive wastes.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 90 no. 5
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/02635579010140584
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

  • Economics
  • Environment
  • India
  • Recycling
  • Resources
  • Systems analysis
  • Systems design
  • Waste

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Article
Publication date: 31 May 2019

Municipalization for privatization’s sake: Municipal solid waste collection services in urban India

Aman Luthra

Rapid economic growth and urbanization in India have increased demand for municipal services. In response, privatization has emerged as a policy solution to a growing…

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Abstract

Purpose

Rapid economic growth and urbanization in India have increased demand for municipal services. In response, privatization has emerged as a policy solution to a growing deficit in urban infrastructure and service provision. But, privatization assumes prior state ownership of those services. Certain waste management services, specifically doorstep waste collection, have never been truly public in the sense that private informal actors have historically provided them. The purpose of this paper is to examine the tensions and contradictions between two related policy imperatives – universal service provision and privatization – that appear to be guiding the municipalization of solid waste collection services in urban India.

Design/methodology/approach

Research for this paper relies on detailed analysis of key government documents (reports of various committees, regulations and laws) that have been important in defining municipal responsibilities for waste management in India from 1990 to 2016. In addition, where appropriate, research materials from the author’s doctoral dissertation fieldwork in Delhi from October 2012 to December 2013 have also been used.

Findings

An analysis of key policy documents revealed that the government’s efforts to document deficits in service provision ignored, and thus rendered invisible, the work of the informal sector. While a consensus on the need for universal waste collection service had emerged as early as the late 1990s, it was not until 2016 that municipal responsibility for service provision was codified into law. The rules issued in 2016 municipalized this responsibility while simultaneously opening up spaces for the inclusion of the informal sector in waste collection service provision.

Originality/value

This paper fills a gap in the existing literature on how policy interventions have brought the space of the doorstep into the ambit of the state such that it allows for the opening up of those spaces for the entry of private capital. Under the guise of universal service provision, the shift to municipalization and outsourcing to private corporations is not in fact privatization – service provision is already private – but involves the dispossession of informal workers and the transfer of their resource to the formal, corporate sector.

Details

Society and Business Review, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/SBR-11-2017-0102
ISSN: 1746-5680

Keywords

  • Informal sector
  • Privatization
  • Urban India
  • Municipalization
  • Universal public service
  • Waste collection

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Article
Publication date: 9 January 2007

Municipal solid waste management in Kanpur, India: obstacles and prospects

Hina Zia and V. Devadas

The purpose of this research is to assess the existing state of MSW in Kanpur city with the aim of identifying the main obstacles to its efficiency and the prospects for…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to assess the existing state of MSW in Kanpur city with the aim of identifying the main obstacles to its efficiency and the prospects for improvisation of the solid waste management system in the city.

Design/methodology/approach

The research has been conducted in three stages. The first stage involved collection of background information through various reports, publications of various organizations to understand the state of MSWM in the city, followed by interviews with various heads of the Municipal Corporation involved in SWM, municipal workers and residents of the city. Field studies were conducted in few wards of the city and official dump sites. The third stage involved conducting interviews with planning experts and representatives from NGOs to derive information on various SWM related problems and prospects for improvising the system.

Findings

The existing solid waste management system in the city appears to be highly inefficient. Only primary and secondary collection, transportation and open dumping are practiced, that too in a non‐technical manner.

Research limitations/implications

There is a need to establish a detailed database regarding the quantity and quality of the waste generated by various generators category wise. There is a need to find the exact size of the informal waste recycling sector and the economics of waste recycling in the city to integrate it with the formal sector.

Originality/value

This paper systematically assesses the obstacles in the existing solid waste management system in Kanpur city and tries to assess the potentials for its improvisation.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/14777830710717749
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

  • Waste management
  • Waste rates
  • India

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Article
Publication date: 23 June 2020

Municipal solid waste generation, composition, and management: the global scenario

Kapil Dev Sharma and Siddharth Jain

Due to the increasing population and prosperity, the generation rate of municipal solid waste (MSW) has increased significantly, resulting in serious problems on public…

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Abstract

Purpose

Due to the increasing population and prosperity, the generation rate of municipal solid waste (MSW) has increased significantly, resulting in serious problems on public health and the environment. Every single person in the world is affected by the municipal solid waste management (MSWM) issue. MSWM is reaching a critical level in almost all areas of the world and seeking the development of MSW strategies for a sustainable environment. This paper aims to present the existing global status of MSW generation, composition, management and related problems.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 59 developed and developing countries have been grouped based on their gross national income to compare the status of various MSWM technologies among them. A total of 19 selection criteria have been discussed to select appropriate MSWM technology(s) for a city/town, which affects their applicability, operational suitability and performance. All risks and challenges arising during the life cycle of the waste to energy (WtE) project have also been discussed. This paper also gives a comparative overview of different globally accepted MSWM technologies and the present market growth of all WtE technologies.

Findings

It was found that most developed countries have effectively implemented the solid waste management (SWM) hierarchy and are now focusing heavily on reducing, reusing and recycling of MSW. On the other hand, SWM has become very serious in low-income and low-middle-income countries because most of the MSW openly dumps and most countries are dependent on inadequate waste infrastructure and the informal sector. There are also some other major challenges related to effective waste policies, availability of funds, appropriate technology selection and adequacy of trained people. This study clears the picture of MSW generation, composition, management strategies and policies at the worldwide context. This manuscript could be valuable for all nations around the world where effective MSWM has not yet been implemented.

Originality/value

This study clears the picture of solid waste generation, composition, management strategies and policies at the worldwide context. This manuscript could be valuable for all nations around the world where effective MSWM has not yet been implemented. In this study, no data was generated. All supporting data were obtained from previously published papers in journals, the outcomes of the international conferences and published reports by government organizations.

Details

Social Responsibility Journal, vol. 16 no. 6
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-06-2019-0210
ISSN: 1747-1117

Keywords

  • MSW
  • Generation rate
  • Global scenario
  • Waste management
  • Waste to energy
  • Technology selection

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Article
Publication date: 27 February 2009

A case of a municipal solid waste management system for a medium‐sized Indian city, Aligarh

Nadeem Khalil and Mubashra Khan

The purpose of this study is to assess the current practices and state of solid waste management systems (SWMS) in one medium‐sized Indian town, identifying main issues…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to assess the current practices and state of solid waste management systems (SWMS) in one medium‐sized Indian town, identifying main issues and problems to its ineffectiveness, inefficiency and to gain some suggestions and recommendations to improve the SWM infrastructure and practices in such Indian towns.

Design/methodology/approach

A medium size city, Aligarh, having a population of about 0.7 million and situated 130 km from the capital city of India, Delhi, was selected for this study. An extensive literature review was conducted to establish a theoretical framework. Field visits were conducted to collect the primary data and to understand the SWMS of the city, including interaction and interviews with the various officials and workers of the municipality responsible for SWM and residents of the city. A protocol was developed to analyze the sources, quantification, and to determine the composition of waste streams. Existing reports related to SWM and recommendations of planners/NGOs/consultants for improving the system were studied.

Findings

Despite all efforts being made by the local municipality within their limited resources, the solid waste management situation in Aligarh is still not adequate. The waste is being dumped on low lying or open areas in the outskirts of the city without engineering and scientific methods. This situation of SWMS can be compared with other Indian towns of similar size.

Originality/value

The paper discusses problems, opportunities and perspectives in the existing solid waste management system in Aligarh city and assesses the potential for its improvement.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/14777830910939444
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

  • Waste management
  • Waste disposal
  • Recycling
  • India

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