EVALUATION OF THE POLLUTION STATUS IN UYO DUMP SITE METROPOLIS USING AFRICAN GIANT LAND SNAIL; Archachatina marginata
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 Introduction
Waste generation is an integral aspect of human existence that is unavoidable. It is a product of resource use process that has the capacity to be inconveniencing and harmful leading in extreme cases to pollution with resultant epidemics and catastrophic consequences. Waste is used to describe any item or object that is no longer suitable for use in the owner’s or user’s consideration, waste can be products or by-products of certain processes or remnants of useful items that are considered as no longer useful. Waste comes in three broad forms of solid, liquid and gaseous waste, (Jatau, 2013).
Solid waste which consists of refuse, garbage, rubbish, dead animals, construction wastes, etc., may either be biodegradable or non-biodegradable, combustible or non- combustible. Examples of solid waste are; broken glasses, plastics, metals, broken blocks, food remnants, papers, wood, cloth, etc. Solid waste from households, commercial and industrial sources are called Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), and they are generally disposed off in a landfill (Environmental Protection Department, 2011). Biodegradable waste items will disintegrate with the passage of time even when left on their own but apart from creating health hazards, the rate of disintegration may be too slow for the rate of generation thereby making aesthetically unappealing. Owing to the multidimensional nature of waste and its attendant negative effects on humans, wildlife and the environment, its management is highly crucial and requires concerted effort. (Adewale and Lither land, 2011). Waste management practices which essentially covers the collection, conveyance, processing, recycling and disposal of waste items is approached in different ways in different communities all with the same goal of maintaining sustainable environment conducive for healthy human and wildlife habitation. Generally, governments are responsible for the management of non-hazardous residential and institutional waste while, commercial and industrial wastes are managed by their producers under government’s supervision. A common practice of solid waste management in Nigeria involves the collection, transportation and disposal of solid wastes at designated areas called dumpsites. Uyo metropolis dumpsite is a major repository of municipal solid waste in Akwa Ibom State. It receives domestic, industrial and institutional waste by public and private waste management operators.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.