Environmental Crises in Government-controlled Municipal Solid Waste Management in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper investigated and evaluated the crises that rocked municipal solid waste management (MSWM) in Port Harcourt, the capital city of Rivers State, Nigeria, as the State transited from one governmental regime to another in 2015. The city witnessed unprecedented increase in waste heaps at every nook and cranny, that were unattended to for a relatively long time. The investigation used field data and literature information from various stakeholders, including personal interviews and participant observations. Field reports and interview responses were analysed using simple mathematical relations and global best environmental practices. It was found that overbearing political interests and deficiency of funds elicited the crises. The critical aspects of MSWM in the metropolis are undertaken by contractors who depend almost entirely on government funding, making the processes not self-sustaining, hence a transitional defect in the State jolted the stability of the MSWM fabric. The existing practice of simply collecting waste from streets and disposing has not encouraged self-funding for the waste management sector. Formulation and implementation of appropriate policies and creation of incentives for green management; and introduction of friendly advance disposal fees may be feasible options in the solution to the challenges of MSWM in the metropolis.

Keywords: Environmental crises, municipal solid waste, political interest, government-controlled, transition