Estimation and characterization of municipal solid waste in Nekede landfill, Owerri metropolis, Nigeria

Okere Kelechi Justin, Abu Gideon O., Ndukwu Benjamin

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generation is on the rise in metropolitan areas especially in developing countries such as Nigeria. Poor understanding of waste dynamics, political and fiscal capital has led to inadequate management. Consequently there are plethora of environmental issues including adverse impact on ecosystem services and functions. So understanding the composition and characteristics of generated waste is essential in developing the right policies and strategies for efficient management. MSW generated in Owerri metropolis are hauled commingled to Nekede landfill near Otamiri river.  Data on quantity of waste generated are not available. Furthermore reports by varying researchers indicate heavy metal contamination of Otamiri river. Thus this research was done to estimate and characterize waste discharged at Nekede landfill. Emphasis is on hazardous component, since when discharged into landfill, it could introduce heavy metals in adjoining rivers. Therefore study will enhance understanding the link between hazardous waste composition and heavy metal contamination detected in Otamiri river. A multi criteria assessment has been applied in this research. They include review of relevant literatures. Reference [4] was used to sample and classify the MSW; the hazardous waste fraction was benched on the classification by [50] and [11]. Result indicate a monthly MSW generation of 19,950-30,000 tonnes with organic portion of over 60%; per capita generation rate of 1.24-1.9kg/day with hazardous waste fraction of between 16.2% and 18.7%. This correlate the studies by some researchers that implicated the Nekede landfill. Yet further studies should analyze the varying components of the hazardous waste and model the mass transport phenomena via conceptual site model (CSM) to confirm the impact of the Nekede landfill on Otamiri river.