CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1      Background to the Study Human environment needs to be kept clean. The 7th goal of the Millennium Development is to ensure clean environmental sustainability. The pursuit of environmental sustainability is an essential part of human well-being as identified by the United Nations Environmental Programme (Abankwa, 2004). However, waste generation is an inevitable phenomenon so long as man is in existence. The condition and rate of waste generation in the developed and developing countries are quite different. Although, the developed countries generate more wastes than the developing ones due to extraction from the manufacturing process, they have competent government institutions and facilities to handle their wastes (Abrokwah, 2001). The developing countries on the other hand are market-oriented. They have not acquired the needed (high) technology to enable them attain full grasp of coping with the huge challenges associated with effective waste disposal. This situation has led to great degradation of the environment resulting in several health problems (Adesiyan, and Leite, 2007). Waste means any garbage, refuse, sludge from a waste water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded materials including solid, liquid, semi-solid, or contained gaseous material, resulting from industrial, commercial, mining and agricultural operations, and from community activities source (Adewumi and Adepetu, 2005). For clarity, in a research conducted by (Adetola, 2010), in his study of Calabar town he identified different types of solid waste disposal ranging from garbage, rubbish, medical wastes, bulk wastes, street wastes, animal wastes, construction/demolition wastes and special wastes Wastes can be categorized in four forms: Solid, liquid, semi- solid and gaseous waste. Solid waste disposal constitutes one of the environmental concerns local, regional and national. The desire for improved conditions of life, economic growth, employment opportunities, better housing and other requirements of an improved standard of living believed to be available in cities leads to rural-urban drift and consequently urban population concentration (Adewumi, 2010). Something can become a waste when it is no longer useful to the owner or it is uses has fails to fulfill its purpose (Agunwamba, 2002). Solid waste according to (Miller, 2000) is any useless, unwanted, or discarded material that is not liquid or gas. A great mixture of substances including the dust, metal, glass, paper and cardboard, textile, vegetable materials and plastic characterize solid waste (Ajani, 2007). The third world having refused to be the “dustbin†of the western world also lacks appropriate facilities treatment technologies and good method of disposal of waste. Markets play a vital role in the economic life of the people, thus the activities that takes place in the market has created an overwhelming sanitation problems in markets that includes improper refuse disposal and inadequate of sanitary facilities that result in open disposal and exposure to foods to fillies, rodents and contaminates. Beneh, (2005) stated that problems of solid waste disposal in markets was attributed to improper planning of markets. The springing up of illegal markets, inadequate road networks, Poor institutional regulation, Poor enforcement and monitoring and above all, corrupt and sharp practices by supervisors of markets. According to Cointreau-Living, (2007) markets occupy an important position in the lives of Nigerians and activities involved in buying and selling generate large quantities of solid waste that comprise a large proportion of putrid vegetable and animal matter. It is quite common to observe mountains of waste at market places. Coinreau, (2012) stated that the heaps of refused provide excellent breeding grounds for vectors of communication diseases including rodents, insects, etc. which increase the potential for spread of infectious disease. According to (Folorrunso, 2001), solid waste disposal pose fire hazards apart from being eyesores and sources of unpleasant odors, very frequently waste is dumped in drainages or canals and along water courses with impunity. All these have unpleasant environmental consequences. Poor supervision of market has lead to overcrowding, as well as trading on access roads within and outside the markets. All this add to indiscriminate waste disposal. Blockage of access road within the market and its surroundings sometimes lead to unnecessary loss of lives and properties in event of emergency evacuation during fire accidents. (Nweke, 2000) of all the environmental problems facing the nation, the most obvious and most embarrassing is the solid waste disposal problems. Solid waste can be defined as any solid material in the flow pattern that is discarded as useless or unwanted. Solid waste disposal in Awka can be regarded as serious environ-social problems which has been causing a lot of social disturbances to the people living in the area of economic activity. This requires materials drawn directly and indirectly from the environment which are; ultimately returned to the environment as waste product. As such the economy (i.e. production and consumption, or final demand activities) cannot ignore its linkages to the environment. Igoni, (2007) defined market as an “authorized public concourse of buyers and sellers of commodities meeting at the place, more or less strictly limited or defined at an appointed timeâ€ÂÂ. Only those authorized public place and building where transaction of goods and service take place in an organized manner and at a particular point in time. No market in Nigeria especially the urban and semi-urban centers or high population density can boast or having found a lasting solution to the problem of this continues monstrous dimensions (Leite, 2003). Presently, in Awka which is the capital of Anambra state, which is known by its one of the major market Eke Awka, which are located in the Awka Metropolitan area. The Anambra State Waste Management Agency (ASWAMA) engages in the collection and disposal of solid waste, yet it has not made any significant impact on the urban residents in terms of environmental cleanliness. From the observation of the researcher, wastes are often indiscriminately dumped on open plots of land, particularly along the streets in Awka. In fact, waste management in Awka has gained notoriety due to its visibility and general degradation of the environment. We often witness nauseating scene of heaps of waste in many places. A good example is the situation along Eke Awka round about and Zik’s Avenue road which leads to where wastes are scattered in gutters, streets corners and roadsides. This is one of the major challenges Anambra State Government is facing. A healthy and sustainable environment that will help to salvage this condition can be ensured if there is an adoption of preventive and remedial strategies. This will only be feasible when there is willingness and commitment from the government, the supervisors of market and urban residents. This study therefore seeks to address the issue of ineffective solid wastes disposal and attempt to proffer solutions that could checkmate and enhance solid waste management thereby reducing indiscriminate waste disposal in Eke Awka market in Anambra state and beyond.