IOP Conference Series: Materials

Science and Engineering

PAPER • OPEN ACCESS You may also like

- Global review of human waste-picking and
Influence of Livelihood Assets on Attitude Towards its contribution to poverty alleviation and a
circular economy
Solid Waste Sanitation: A Case of Okobaba, Jandira Morais, Glen Corder, Artem Golev
et al.

Lagos, Nigeria - Coastal Livelihood Sustainability Analysis

of Migration Activity at Tanjung Luar and
Salura Island Indonesia
To cite this article: Edith Egbimhanlu Alagbe et al 2021 IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng. 1107 012104 Dewi Susiloningtyas

- Land Usage and Sustainable Livelihood:

Case Comparative Study of Tourism
Ethnic Villages in China
Qianlang Shang, Qingzhong Ming and
View the article online for updates and enhancements. Mengxue Li

This content was downloaded from IP address 182.2.164.234 on 16/07/2024 at 02:12

International Conference on Engineering for Sustainable World (ICESW 2020) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1107 (2021) 012104 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1107/1/012104

INFLUENCE OF LIVELIHOOD ASSETS ON ATTITUDE TOWARDS

SOLID WASTE SANITATION: A CASE OF OKOBABA, LAGOS,
NIGERIA
Alagbe, Edith Egbimhanlu 1*, Alagbe, Olusegun Adegboyega 2, Okocha
Dumebi Sophia1, Ojewumi, Modupe Elizabeth1, Augustine Omoniyi
Ayeni1,
1
Department of Chemical Engineering, Covenant University, Ota. Nigeria.
2
Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority, Ikeja. Nigeria.
Corresponding Author: [email protected]
ORCID Number: 0000-0002-0533-9789

ABSTRACT

Land form, management policy and socio-economic characteristics have been

identified as factors responsible for poor solid waste management. This study
examined the influence of livelihood assets on waste sanitation/disposal behaviour in
Lagos Metropolis: a case study of Okobaba. A multi-stage sampling procedure was
used to obtain data for analysis. From the data collected and analyzed descriptively,
efforts were made to identify and examine the respondents’ socio-economic
characteristics, waste sanitation characteristic, livelihood assets and the connection
between livelihood assets and waste sanitation behaviour of people in the area under
study. The research result established the existence of variations in the waste disposal
characteristics of respondents in the area under study. Therefore, it is recommended
that a deliberate policy to provide livelihood assets or conditions that will improve
access to better livelihood capacity, adequate for low-income households to meet
their basic psychological livelihood needs. This is imperative in ensuring attitudinal
change towards waste management and advancement to a second-order need like
environmental sanitation.

Keywords: Disposal Characteristics, Livelihood Assets, Socio-Economic

Characteristics, Solid Waste Disposal, Waste Management Policy.

1. Introduction

The deteriorating quality of the urban environment in the developing countries is closely
linked to the issue of poor management of solid waste management. To address this situation,
global initiatives like Agenda 21-the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and
United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) etc. entrenched solid waste
management as an important facet of sustainable development for any nation. Unfortunately,
the solid waste management efforts have been quite inefficient and unproductive in a
majority of fast-growing cities [1]. This has been collaborated by World Health Organization
(WHO) report, revealing that as at 2010, billions of people in developing countries lacked
safe sanitation and also, predicted that, within 2 decades, an additional two billion people (at
the minimum ) would demand safe sanitation in towns and cities of developing countries

Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution
of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd 1
International Conference on Engineering for Sustainable World (ICESW 2020) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1107 (2021) 012104 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1107/1/012104

[2,3]. The millennium development goal target ten (10) was therefore proposed, to meet the
need of at least, half the proportion of people with suitable access to basic sanitation and safe
drinking water by 2015 [3] The Nigerian national stakeholders/ investor’s forum on
Municipal Solid Waste Management cited ineffective Municipal Solid Waste Management as
a probable deterrent to attaining Millennium Development Goals [4,5].

Livelihood asset refers to the income/resource base of a household by which daily living is
sustained and maintained [6]. It encompasses the daily activities engaged to provide for a
household. Although there are diverse aspects of livelihood assets (like social, financial,
cultural, natural, human), this work would be limited to human and financial assets, by which
we refer to the person about the activities he engages in to keep his household.

In Lagos Nigeria, the quantity of waste generated is expected to rise in linear proportion with
an increase in the population [7]. Therefore, this solid waste generation may increase beyond
the extent of the ability of the agencies to improve on the financial and technical resources
that would parallel this growth [5]. Also, besides population growth and increasing waste
generation, there are other socio-economic dynamics like the scale of development,
urbanization, poverty, over-crowding that are compounding the problem of waste
management and compromising the quality of urban life in Lagos despite calculated efforts
by the state government to reduce, reuse, recover and recycle wastes generated within the
Lagos [8,9] and Uyo [10]. These dynamics are more pronounced in the low-income
communities of Lagos metropolis, making it a threat to city dwellers, planners and other
stakeholders.

Previous work of Agwu (2012) [11] revealed that the level of awareness, knowledge and
practices of solid waste management is closely related to the background (sex, age and social
class) of Port-Harcourt city residents. To enhance waste management practices, an awareness
program to address problems associated with solid waste management has to be introduced at
all levels.

The aim of this study, therefore, is to examine how livelihood strategies of residents correlate
with the choice of waste disposal in low-income communities in Lagos metropolis using
Okobaba as a case study.

Literature Review

Waste generation rate may at best, be assumed a figure, in developing countries where data is
scarce and the few available data are incomplete based on the unscientific method in which
the data were obtained and presented. This data is handy in the effective management of
waste in any urban area. It is reported that the daily waste generation rate in Ghana is about
12,710 tons and geographical locations, the forest and coastal zones generating higher wastes
[12]. Conversely, Xu (2016) [13] reported that family size and dinning at home directly
impacted the waste generation rate while employment rate and age , among other factors
indirectly impacted the rate generation of municipal waste.

2
International Conference on Engineering for Sustainable World (ICESW 2020) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1107 (2021) 012104 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1107/1/012104

Municipal waste are residential and commercial wastes, generated within a specific municipal
area. They are characterized into bio-degradable waste, non bio-degradable waste, recyclable
waste, inert and miscellaneous waste [14].

Factors such as family type (nuclear, mono-parental or nuclear) has a huge impact on the
volume of waste generated [15]; geographical location, collection frequency and season [16]
Khan et al (2016) reported that different socioeconomic groups produced different
kinds/quantity of waste – the middle socioeconomic group generating the most waste. Plastic
waste and food waste are mostly generated in the high socioeconomic group than the low
socioeconomic group.

In a construction site, the level of education and experience of the contractors has been found
to be a major influence in the amount of waste generated at the construction site [17] while
the public-private nature of a demolition project was identified as a major player in the
volume generation of demolition waste [18].

In this work, an attempt is made to establish the existence of a relationship between waste
sanitary methods and the livelihood assets in the study area which is classified as a low-
income community in Lagos, Nigeria.

2. Research methodology

Types and Sources of Data

The data type that was considered for this study was socio-economic, neighbourhood
characteristics and livelihood. The data were obtained basically from the primary sources
only. Personal observations and questionnaire administration were used to obtain primary
data. The questionnaire was designed and administered to elucidate relevant information on
socio-economic, the livelihood of the households and neighbourhood characteristics. Direct
observation was used to examine the physical, environmental and housing conditions of the
study area.

Study Area

The study area is characterized by shanties built with make shift materials on the water, as
well as wood preservation and sawmill marketing being the major activities of the place.
Okobaba is interspaced by uninhabited swampy mangrove vegetation. Another notable
feature of the study area is the famous Third Mainland bridge of Lagos which traverses the
Lagos lagoon.

Geographical Location and General Characteristics of Okobaba

Okobaba is framed by longitudes 2° 42E and 30 22E of the Greenwich Meridian and latitudes
6° 22N and 6° 42N of the equator Okobaba is located along the edge of the Lagos lagoon,
Ebute Metta East Area of Lagos. It is bordered to the North, East and South by the Lagos

3
International Conference on Engineering for Sustainable World (ICESW 2020) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1107 (2021) 012104 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1107/1/012104

Lagoon and to the West by Ebute Metta East residential neighbourhood. The map of Lagos,
showing the location of Okobaba is shown in figure 1.

Figure 1: Map of Lagos Depicting Location of Study Area (Mainland L.G.A) with Nigeria
Insert. Source: Lagos State Geographic Information System and Mapping Archives

Sampling Technique and Procedure

For this study, a total number of 400 households were sampled using a multi-stage sampling
method. This method involved a combination of disproportional stratification and simple
random sampling method. Having chosen the number of houses to be sampled in each ward,
the next step is sampling procedure. The sampling procedure first encompassed identification
and classification of streets in each ward based on their street length. Using the mean of the
longest and shortest street in the study area, three classes of streets were identified (Example
the length of the longest street is 314m + length of shortest street 98m = 412m 2=206m) To
get three class category this figure is divided into three to give 68.9 approximately 69. Thus,
streets with length 1-69 meters were classified as short streets, while streets with length 70-
138 meters and street of length 139 meters and above were classified as medium and long
streets respectively. Therefore, in each ward, street was selected disproportionately from each
length class.

Data collection instruments

Data collection during this research was through the use of questionnaire administered to
respondents living within the sample area. This is a composed set of structured questions that

4
International Conference on Engineering for Sustainable World (ICESW 2020) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1107 (2021) 012104 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1107/1/012104

were used to compile information during the survey. All respondent filled out the
questionnaire independently.

Data Analysis and Presentation

Data analysis is an effort to categorize, summarize and seek pattern and relationship with
information collected. The method of data analysis could be either descriptive or inferential
statistical analysis. For the purpose of this study, the data collected from the survey relating
to each objective was analyzed descriptively and presented in figures.

3. Results and discussion

From Figure 2, these clearly identified sources of livelihood make up about 62.5% which
confirms the classification of the study area as low income.

Figure 2: Respondents' Predominant Source of Livelihood

Knowledge of Waste Management

The result shown in Figure 3 revealed that most (308) respondent representing 77.0%
indicated that they have knowledge of waste management while 77 respondents representing
23.0% don’t have knowledge of waste management. This result suggests that over half of the
respondents in the study area are aware of the appropriate waste management practice that
will prevent health risk associated with improper waste management.

5
International Conference on Engineering for Sustainable World (ICESW 2020) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1107 (2021) 012104 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1107/1/012104

Figure 3: Respondents' knowledge of waste management and its negative health impact

Waste Sanitation Characteristics of Respondents

The solid waste sanitation characteristics variables considered in this study include; type of
dustbin, location of the dustbin, a distance of dumpsite, methods of disposal, duration of
refuse before collection and respondents’ means of solid waste storage. Figure 4 reveals a
poor attitude of the respondents to a sanitary environment with over 50% using uncovered
means of waste collection/dust bin.

Figure 4: Respondents type of Dustbin

Respondents' Location of Dustbin

6
International Conference on Engineering for Sustainable World (ICESW 2020) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1107 (2021) 012104 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1107/1/012104

Result in Figure 5 revealed that, most respondents (106) representing 26.5% indicate that the
location of their dustbin is others (outside the listed options), 103 respondents representing
25.8% indicate that their dustbin is inside the house, 100 respondents representing 25.0%
indicate that their dustbin is outside the gate, while 59 and 32 respondents representing 14.8%
and 8.0% keep dustbin inside the kitchen and at the door respectively. This study revealed
that on the whole more than half of the total respondents keep their dustbin either at the door,
inside the kitchen/house which is not hygienic to health.

Figure 5: Respondents' Location of Dustbin

Respondents' access to waste collection Van

Result in Figure 6 shows that most respondents (265) representing 66.3% indicate that they
have access for waste collection van while (135) respondents representing 33.8% don’t have
access to waste collection van. This means that almost 70% of the respondents in the study
area cannot use lack of access to waste collection van as an excuse for the poor sanitary
condition or use of the inappropriate method of waste disposal.

7
International Conference on Engineering for Sustainable World (ICESW 2020) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1107 (2021) 012104 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1107/1/012104

Figure 6: Respondents' access to waste collection Van

Respondents' Waste Duration before Collection

As shown in Figure 7, most respondents (189) representing 47.3% indicate that their waste
are collected every week, 99 respondents representing 24.8% indicate that their waste are
collected few times a week while 78 and 34 respondents representing 19.5% and 8.5%
indicate those that don’t have an idea of how long it takes to collect their waste for disposal
and those that indicate that their waste are collected monthly respectively.

Figure 7: Respondents' Waste Duration before Collection

8
International Conference on Engineering for Sustainable World (ICESW 2020) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1107 (2021) 012104 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1107/1/012104

Results obtained suggest that low-income households generate solid waste with a poor
sanitary environment which is similar to findings of [19, 20, 21]. In like vain, Kahn (20160
[14] demonstrated that the social aspects of the poor groups in connection with the process of
informal waste recovery are paramount for achieving the sustainable outcome of Municipal
Solids Waste Management (MSWM)

4. Conclusion

This study shows that livelihood (human and financial) assets do influence respondents’
attitude towards waste sanitation behaviour in Okobaba, a low income coastal informal
community. More awareness of the benefits of a sanitary environment is recommended for
the low-income areas. This would likely impact on the attitude towards solid waste disposal
methods. Improper waste disposal methods are unsightly and detrimental to the environment
and health of plants and animals.

The findings of this study are relevant to urban planning and development with special
reference to waste management and poverty reduction strategy. It is important for planners
and policymakers to focus on waste management and poverty reduction more especially in
and around low income coastal informal communities. In planning waste management in
low-income communities, planners and other practitioners should further identify livelihood
assets that will boost household economic strength, reduce travel cost, improve health
condition, revive their energy usage and create more productive time to engage in income-
generating activities necessary for a balanced socio-economic life and improved sanitary
behaviour.

Acknowledgement

The Team is appreciative of the support of Covenant University, Ota in the publication of this
manuscript and the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority’s collaborative support.

Competing interest

None is declared by members of the Team.

References

[1] Asare, W., Andrews, A., & Asare, R. (2015). Household solid waste generation and
disposal in some selected communities in Ejisu_Juaben municipality, Ghana. J. of Sci.
Res., 6, 371-382.

[2] W.H.O. Health of the People. The African Regional Health Report. 2006.

9
International Conference on Engineering for Sustainable World (ICESW 2020) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1107 (2021) 012104 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1107/1/012104

[3] Uruma, N.E., Ukweze, R.E., & Aneke, G.C.(2012). Minimizing the negative
externality from sachet water consumption Nigeria. European J.and Manage., 12, 15.

[4] Ejaz, N., Akhtar, N., Nisar, H., & Naeem, A. (2010). Environmental impacts of
improper solid waste management in developing countries: a case of Rawalpindi City.
WIT Transactions on Ecol. and the Environ., 142, 379-387.

[5] Fashola, B.R. (2014). Partnership for development. Lagos state public private
partnership Office. www.lagosstateppp.gov.ng. [Online] 2014. [Cited: August 5th,
2019.]

[6] Yang, L., Liu, M., Lun, F., Min, Q., Zhang, C., & Li, H. (2018). Livelihood assets and
strategies among rural households: Comparative analysis of rice and dryland terrace
systems in China. Sustainability, 10, 1-18.

[7] Omole, D.O., & Isiorho, S. (2011). Waste management and water quality issues in
coastal states of Nigeria: The Oguns State experience. J.of Sustain. Dev. in Africa, 13,
207-217. ISSN: 1520-5509.

[8] Efeovbokhan, V.E., Egwari, L., Alagbe, E.E., Adeyemi, J., & Taiwo, O.S. (2019).
Production of Bioethanol from hybrid cassava pulpo and peel using microbial and
acid hydrolysis. BioResources., 14, 2596-2609.

[9] Olukanni, D.O., & Oresanya, O.O. (2018). Progression in waste management
processes in Lagos State, Nigeria. Int. J. of Eng. Res. in Africa, 35, 11-23.

[10] Ukpong, I.E., & Udofia, E.P. (2011). Domestic Solid Waste Management in a Rapidly
Growing Nigerian City of Uyo. J. Hum Ecol, 36, 229-235.

[11] Agwu, M.O. (2012). Issues and Challenges of Solid Waste Management Practices in
Port-Harcourt City, Nigeria-a behavioural perspective. Am. J. of Social and
Manage.Sci,. 3(2), 83-92

[12] Miezah K, Obiri-Danso K, Kadar Z, Fei-Baffoe B, Mensah MY. (2015). Municipal

solid waste characterization and quantification as a measure towards effective waste
management in Ghana. Waste management, 46, 15-27.

[13] Xu L, Lin T, Xu Y, Xiao L, Ye Z, Cuiz S. (2016). Path analysis of factors influencing

household solid waste generation: a case study of Xiamen Island, China. Journal of
Material Cycles and Waste Management, 18, 377-384.

[14] Khan D, Kumar A, Samadder SR. (2016). Impact of socioeconomic status on

municipal solid waste generation rate. Waste Management, 49, 15-25.

[15] Ojeda-Benitez A., Armijo-de Vega C, Marquez-Montenegro M. (2008). Househols

solid waste characterization by family socioeconomic profile as unit of analysis.
Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 52(7), 992-999.

10
International Conference on Engineering for Sustainable World (ICESW 2020) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1107 (2021) 012104 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1107/1/012104

[16] Azadi S, Karimi-Jashni A. (2016). Verifying the performance of asrtificial neural

network and multiple linear regression in predicting the mean seasonal municipal
solid waste generation rate: A case study of Fars provinc, Iran. Waste Management,
48, 14-23.

[17] Ikau R, Joseph C, Tawie R. (2016). Factors influencing waste generation in the
construction industry in Malaysia. Procedia - Socio and Behavior sciences, 234, 11-
18.

[18] Chen X, Lu W. (2017). Identifying factors influencing demolition waste generation in

Hong Kong. Journal of Cleaner Production, 141, 799-811.

[19] Oyoo, R., Leemans, R., & Mol, A.P.J. (2011). Future Projections of Urban Waste
Flows and their Impacts in African Metropolises Cities. Int J. Environ Res., 5, 705-
724.

[20] Okot-Okuunu, J., & Nyenje, R. (2011). Municipal solid waste management under
decentralization in Uganda. Habitat Int., 35, 537-543.

[21] Oberlin, A.S. (2011). The Role of Households in Solid Waste Management in East
Africa Capital Cities. PhD Thesis: Environmental Policy Series, Wageingen
University, The Netherlands.

11