THE IMPACTS OF SCAVENGING RECYCLABLE WASTES ON THE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY OF THE CITY OF ABA, NIGERIA
Aim of research is to examine the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of waste scavenging on the communities and households in Aba. Objectives of research are:
1. Review the key environmental policies and legal frameworks in Nigeria relating to waste management; particularly for scavenging and recycling.
2. Assess the key waste management practices in the City of Aba, with a focus on the informal sector.
3. Examine the environmental impacts of managing waste resources by scavengers and the informal community in Aba.
4. Examine the economic impacts of scavenging recyclable waste by scavengers and the informal community in Aba.
5. Develop best practice guidelines for the informal sector in the City of Aba.
The formulated research questions are:
1. What are the key waste management practices and flows within the informal waste sector of Aba and its environs?
2. How can the environmental and economic benefits of recycling scavenged solid waste materials in Aba be maximised?
The research participants are stakeholders from the informal and formal waste sector. Total sample size is 70. All informal stakeholders were observed in addition to being interviewed, they amounted to which included 10 street waste scavengers; 10 dumpsite waste scavengers; 10 junk buyers; five waste dealers each for iron and steel, aluminium, copper, glass and plastics. Then Operation Manager of the waste industries that use iron and steel; aluminium and copper; glass; and plastics waste as raw materials individually were selected, amounting to four altogether, in addition to one waste broker. The waste broker served as a facilitator of business transactions between key persons of trade (Operation managers) in waste industries and the waste dealers. Based on the sample size of the dealers on plastics, glass, iron and steel; aluminium and copper, each suggested that they knew five other dealers on the respective recovered materials. As it was impossible to ascertain if the people each respondents knew were different to each other, this allowed for the estimation of the population size determined by multiplying the number of each category of research participants by the number five reflected on information gathered, thus enabled the sample range for each dealer to be assumed between 6- 30 people per waste category.
The research methods adopted are Participant observation, Interviews (Semi-structured and unstructured interviews) and content analysis of documents. The research analysis was proposed to be carried out with NVivo 10 and by coding system. Semi-structured interview was conducted on the 10 formal waste stakeholders and documents on policies on the environment and particularly on waste in addition to documents on waste regulations were collected from the formal stakeholders who hold key positions in government parastatals visited in Abuja such as the Federal Ministry of Environment (FMEnv) and National Environmental Standards and Regulatory Authority (NESREA) and Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA) in Aba . Unstructured interviews were conducted the informal waste stakeholders.
The research participants are stakeholders from the informal and formal waste sector. Total sample size is 70. All informal stakeholders were observed in addition to being interviewed, they amounted to which included 10 street waste scavengers; 10 dumpsite waste scavengers; 10 junk buyers; five waste dealers each for iron and steel, aluminium, copper, glass and plastics. Then Operation Manager of the waste industries that use iron and steel; aluminium and copper; glass; and plastics waste as raw materials individually were selected, amounting to four altogether, in addition to one waste broker. The waste broker served as a facilitator of business transactions between key persons of trade (Operation managers) in waste industries and the waste dealers. Based on the sample size of the dealers on plastics, glass, iron and steel; aluminium and copper, each suggested that they knew five other dealers on the respective recovered materials. As it was impossible to ascertain if the people each respondents knew were different to each other, this allowed for the estimation of the population size determined by multiplying the number of each category of research participants by the number five reflected on information gathered, thus enabled the sample range for each dealer to be assumed between 6- 30 people per waste category.
The research methods adopted are Participant observation, Interviews (Semi-structured and unstructured interviews) and content analysis of documents. The research analysis was proposed to be carried out with NVivo 10 and by coding system. Semi-structured interview was conducted on the 10 formal waste stakeholders and documents on policies on the environment and particularly on waste in addition to documents on waste regulations were collected from the formal stakeholders who hold key positions in government parastatals visited in Abuja such as the Federal Ministry of Environment (FMEnv) and National Environmental Standards and Regulatory Authority (NESREA) and Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA) in Aba .
Unstructured interviews were conducted the informal waste stakeholders.