Abstract

Population outburst has led to rapid urbanization and industrialization at an unprecedented scale; however, this has a domino effect on the menace of municipal solid waste (MSW) in the Onitsha metropolis, Anambra State. The methods adopted for this study were field studies and laboratory analysis. We identified households, markets, industries, and institutions, as the four (4) sources of MSW. Wastes includes; organic wastes (51.56%), plastic contents (20.67%), clothing and textile wastes (10.79%), metal scraps (9.29%), bottles (4.50%), and other wastes constitute (3.64%). It also showed that households contribute the highest to MSW (60.57%), while institutions have the lowest contribution (7.53%). Hardness, pH, magnesium, nitrate, chloride, iron, hardness, and total dissolved solids (TDS) are within the World Health Organization (WHO) permissible range. We noticed some traces of coliform and E. coli bacteria. We identified the major obstacles to proper waste management in Onitsha to include; readily available dump sites, poor road conditions, lack of advanced technology, non-cooperation from locals, low wages resulting in lack of motivation, and insufficient storage facilities. Nonetheless implementing optimization tactics such as conducting awareness campaigns for the community, providing job training for workers, enhancing access to streets and introducing automated vehicles can help surmount these challenges.

Keywords

Municipal Solid Waste, Waste Management, Physicochemical Analysis, Impediments and Optimization Strategies