An analysis of agricultural solid waste management and its effect on government spending in Ibadan Metropolis of Oyo State, Nigeria

The study examines the menace of agricultural solid waste management in Ibadan metropolis of Oyo State, Nigeria. Respondents were randomly selected from 8 centres, one each from the 5 local government areas of the municipality, while a centre was chosen to cover 2 adjoining local government areas surrounding the centre of the city. One hundred and sixty respondents (160) were interviewed. The study made use of desentive statistics in analyzing the data. The study shows that adults (88%) interact with the solid waste in one, way or the other. It also shows that, females (66%) are more concerned with the problem of waste disposal and majority (63%) little or no formal education.They are mainly traders (64%) and their income (67%) is less than N3000.00 per month or less than N100 a day. This is far less than 1 dollar a day ($1 = N140). Most respondents (80%) believed that, agricultural solid wastes cause most problems to management, especially during harvest seasons. They also believe that about (18%) waste generated is mainly from maize husks and leaves, while rotten food materials and vegetables account for about 62% of the total. This shows that, agricultural wastes account for about 80 percent of wastes in Ibadan Municipality. The management outfit Ibadan waste management Authority does not recycle and only the Oyo State government operates a fertilizer plant in Bodija. The paper concludes that poverty is mainly the factor responsible for excessive interaction of the respondents with refuse dumps. The paper recommends reestablishment of recycle lands and fertilizer guifforts. It also recommendes the establishment of a virile sanitary inspectorate, private led initiative in waste management, increase funding especially in infrastructure which will lower the unit cost and attract private sector participation.Journal of Environmental Extension Vol 5 2005: 11-17