PER CAPITA WASTE GENERATION AND VARIATION IN KARU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA

A.T. Ogah* and M.M. Alhassan**

*Department of Geography, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nasarawa State, Nigeria.

**Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Abuja, Nigeria.

E-mail: tankogah@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

Increasing amount of waste is clearly an issue of concern within the satellite towns of the Federal Capital City of Abuja. In the last decade, these satellite towns have witnessed tremendous influx of immigrants resulting in the overstretching of the basic infrastructural facilities, one of which is waste collection and disposal facility. This study examined per capita waste generation and its variation in Karu Local Government Area, Nasarawa State. The objectives of this research were achieved using 300 copies of questionnaire administered to heads of households and weighing of waste. Solid wastes generated within twenty four hours were weighed and recorded. Data derived from field were subjected to statistical analysis using descriptive statistics to determine the per capita wet and dry season’s waste generation for the various sampling locations across the study area, student’s t-test was used in assessing the significance of the difference in average per capita waste generation. Results obtained shows that the rate of per capita waste generation for the three sites is 0.537kg and 0.92kg for dry and wet seasons respectively. There is no significant variation in the amount or rates of waste generated among the three study sites in the two seasons at 5% probability level (.090 > 0.05). Therefore, it is concluded that average per capita waste generation for the three areas are almost the same, and waste generated during the dry and wet seasons varied. Recommendations include the encouragement of recycling, re-use and sorting of households waste, among others.