Solid Waste Management in Port-Harcourt Municipality

The current solid waste management practices in Port-Harcourt municipality was reviewed in association with the waste generators perception and involvement. This research was as a result of the absence of notable improvement in solid waste management over a period of 20 years. Waste generators, being the residents living in Port-Harcourt are often thought to be undisciplined, unsupportive and unresponsive to the government’s and waste agencies’ efforts to achieve optimal solid waste management. Thus, a cross sectional survey was conducted to find out if this was actually so. A total of 1000 questionnaires were distributed randomly at 14 different sample locations in PortHarcourt municipality and 983 were successfully retrieved. Questionnaire validation was conducted through expert’s assessment, pilot test and Cronbach’s Alpha analysis (CA). CA analysis using SPSS for 85% of the questions raised in the pilot study was 0.89, which indicated a good internal consistency in the responses. Results indicated that 43% of the residents were actually satisfied concerning the waste services rendered to them, 62% were actively involved in assisting the government manage solid waste, and 55% of the residents were fully aware of the benefits of good solid waste management in their municipality. This clearly establishes the willingness of the residents in the municipality to work hand-in-hand with the government in curbing the menace of poor solid waste management. The onus therefore lies with the government and waste agencies to gun for inclusivity if a positive deviation from the status quo is desired.