Master’s thesis Environmental Management Assessment of the Source Separation of Household Solid Wastes in Nigeria
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Adedara, M.L, Adedara, M.L, Summary of Doctoral Research Structure - FINAL SUBMITTED- ADEDARA, Adedara, M.L
| 2.0 Literature Review 2.1 Historical evolution of waste management Literatures are quite unanimous on the fact that the present standardized methods of waste management seen across the developed world today traced its history back to earlier times inhuman history when we had open dumps in our cities and burial of wastes in rural areas (Hettiarachchi, 2014; Barles, 2014; Wilson, 1976). In 15th century France, piles of refuse were indiscriminately dumped outside Paris gates thereby constituting an interference with city defence. In the period around the second millennium in Britain, wastes were dumped in public waterways while in Harappa, Pakistan as early as 2600 – 1900 BC, trash dumps were an economically viable hunting grounds for archaeologists (Hettiarachchi, 2014; Wilson, 1976). As parts of efforts in London to rid the cities of refuse, city authorities contracted ‘rakers’ to remove mounting wastes from the streets as away of maintaining public hygiene. During this waste removal process, items that could be sold were separated while the residue were either sold to farmers for use as compost or disposed at dumpsites (Wilson, 2007). During the Aegean Bronze Age civilisation in ancient Greece (3000 – 1000 BC, solid wastes were buried at intervals underground and covered with soils in the city capital of Knossos Priestly, 1968 in Wilson, 1976). The piling of heaps of wastes in cities and villages in Rome was common sight because fora longtime the Romans had no organised system of waste removal. German cities, in medieval times, required that vehicles that supplied farm produce to the city returned with a load of waste to the countryside where they are disposed in the soil. The situation was not different in the USA -there were junk men who traded in waste materials like rags, old clothes, old paper, iron and steel for some form of reuse (Wilson, 1976). In the earlier part of the 20th century, it was common in the USA to reclaim swampy land with wastes by creating landfills on such lands (Hettiarachchi 2014). At some point in pre-industrial times, owing to the scarcity of resources, some household goods were repaired and reused - there were instances when organic and garden wastes were used as both animal feed and fertilizers on farms (Strasser, 1999 in UN-HABITAT, 2010). It is worthy of note that such an old practice forms the basis of today’s recycling language. The one obvious thing in the preceding account is the fact that, in pre-industrial times, our waste management habits were inimical to public health, but 5 6 credit should be given to those who came up with the idea of reusing some waste items as this aligns with the modern waste agenda. As cities grew in population and more wastes were generated in the face of changing consumption patterns, certain drivers led to various proactive steps aimed at improving the earlier methods of waste management in both developed and developing economies. The urgent need to improve public health, ensure protection of the environment and the inherent resource value of waste became driving forces that motivated nations to step up the waste management drive (UN- HABITAT 2010). The entry of cholera and some other infectious diseases to Europe and North America triggered the enactment of specific environmental laws with emphasis on waste collection. The first federal solid waste management law in the USA was enacted in 1965 followed by the 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery act while the 1979 Environmental Protection Agency law outlawed open dumping (Hettiarachchi, 2014). In response to further concerns about the contamination of air, water and land and its deleterious effects on the health of those living close to waste dumps, more effective legislations which clamped down on indiscriminate waste disposal and refuse burning were signed into law. Developing economies were not left out in this drive as concerns for public health came to the fore. In Surat city, west India, crisis in public health moved the authorities to develop new methods of collecting waste to keep the city free from disease-causing filth. The landslide at the Payatas dumpsite in the Philippines which took no less than 200 lives facilitated the passage of the Ecological Waste Management Act (UN-HABITAT 2010). It is pertinent to note that, the period beginning from sand upwards saw remarkable improvements in the waste management discourse. Wilson (2007); UN-HABITAT (2010); Hettiarachchi (2014) concur that the modernisation of solid waste management practices in the developed economies began in the s as the issue became a crucial topic on the political agenda. This has led to the usage of such languages as, sustainable waste management and the waste hierarchy guideline, which today drives improvements in waste management in the developed economies. Unfortunately, while developed economies are several miles ahead in the improvement of their environment as they look for better methods of waste management, developing economies appear to still be battling with the elementary issue of waste collection. 6 7 In the case of Nigeria, it is essential to note that, there is no detailed chronicle on the history of waste management as at the time of conducting this research. This could probably bean area for further study as it is essential to know the status quo ante on earlier waste management practices to measure the progress made so far in this sector. However, some research on what led to the evolution of existing legislations on the environment are quite in abundance. Shortly after Festac 77, the second world Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture held in Lagos from 15 January to 12 February 1977, the world’s press classified the city of Lagos as the world’s dirtiest city consequently, the Nigerian Federal Government Enacted Edict No. 9 of 1977 which established the Lagos State Refuse Disposal Board (LSRDB) (Alo, 2009). The establishment of this board became necessary because the task of municipal waste management had already overwhelmed the local government councils which had the statutory responsibility for managing waste as stipulated in the fourth schedule of the Nigerian constitution under functions of a local government (Nigerian Constitution, 1999). As urbanisation thickened in the metropolis, the board’s functions were widened, and the board was consequently renamed as, Lagos State Waste Disposal Board (LSWDB), prior to the adoption of its present name as, Lagos State Waste Management Authority in 1991. LAWMA, since establishment has been evolving numerous ways to achieve MSWM in the mega city of Lagos with the engagement of private sector participation as will be discussed in preceding sections. It is worthy of note that each name change brought along policies aimed at improving municipal waste management (Solomon, 2009). Earlier steps taken by the Federal Government to address waste management problems in Nigeria led to the establishment of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) established by Decree No. 58 of 1988 (Abila & Kantola, 2013; Solomon, 2009). This agency is saddled with the task of monitoring and enforcing standards for waste treatment and disposal practices while each state took a cue by creating State Environmental Protection Agencies (SEPA) with similar functions but overseeing affairs across the length and breadth of their states. Overtime, with further institutional reform, the Federal Government, in 1999 established the Federal Ministry of Environment, Housing and Urban Development headed by a substantive minister who now oversees the various environmental agencies (Ezeah & Roberts, 2014). 7 |