Compliance to Waste Management Policy Guidelines in Abia State, South-east, Nigeria

Abstract

Indiscriminate waste disposal practices can result in numerous health hazards, unsightliness and offensive odour in the environment. Government is responsible for policy formulation and enforcing policy implementation for the benefits of its citizens. Residents are also expected to obey government policies and take responsibilities in handling and disposal of waste they generate. This study was therefore carried out to determine compliance of residents of Umuahia, Abia state to waste management policies. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out amongst residents in Umuahia, Abia state from January to March 2021. Cluster sampling technique was used to select households while simple random sampling was used to select respondents from each of the 384 households that participated in the study. Data was collected by the use of interviewer administered and self-administered questionnaires. Data was analysed using SPSS Vs 23.0 and presented in tables. A P<0.05 was taken to be statistically significant. Majority of the respondents 217(56.5%) rated themselves as non-compliant to government waste management policies. Only 3.9% of respondents comply with government policy on waste management. There were adequate awareness responses on waste management policies among respondents. Three hundred and eleven respondents(81.0%) were aware of the policy, 281(73.2%) were aware of penalties to offenders. Only 13(3.4%) respondents segregate their waste while 77(20.1%) bag their waste. There was a statistical significant difference between risk perception to hazards of improper waste management and compliance to government waste management policy.