WOMEN AND SOLID WASTE SGREGATION IN BAUCHI NIGERIA

Abstract

This research is motivated by the lack of adequate solid waste management system in Bauchi metropolis.  The research is carried out to identify the role of women with a view to integrating them into household solid waste management in order to achieve a healthy and clean living environment in Bauchi metropolis. Systematic random sampling technique was adopted for the selection of the samples and 4% of the study population was taken as the sample size. The major instruments used for data collection were questionnaire, interview and direct measurement of household solid waste at source and the data is presented in tables and charts. It is found that over 95% of sweeping, cooking and food preparation are exclusively reserved for women in the study area. The women dominate generation, storage and collection of household solid with 81%, 96% and 91% respectively within the study area and yet they not integrated in the management. It was revealed that education, income and quantity of waste generation correlate positively and segregation can be 95% effectively carried out by women that have free time It is recommended that segregation of household solid waste at source in the high density area should be adopted and women should be the key actors in the segregation, and there should be a law to enforce the mandatory segregation of solid wastes at source for all the households in the walled-city. This will not only improve the environmental quality but would also increase the income base of the family.

Key words: Solid waste, Household, Women, Segregation