Assessment of the Environmental Impact and Awareness of Waste Disposal in Jos Metropolis Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract Rapid development and population growth have led to a surge in waste generation. Noncompliance with best practices for environmental waste disposal has led to escalating environmental impacts; however, this practice has drastic public health risks in the Jos metropolis. A random sampling method was used to administer questionnaires to 600 respondents. One hundred questionnaires were administered to the six settlements selected. Both descriptive and five-point Likert statistics were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that females are more engaged in environmental management than their male counterparts. There is inadequate awareness and education about waste disposal among respondents, distance to the point of disposal and inadequate disposal facilities are major factors influencing proper waste disposal. In addition, the findings indicated that respondents are knowledgeable that poor solid waste disposal creates a dirty environment, leads to pest infestations and spread diseases among communities. The results showed that respondents are aware that bad and offensive odors pollute the environment and hence affect their health. It is recommended that communities should be educated on proper waste disposal and its health impact and that environmental monitoring by ministries of health and the environment be conducted for physicochemical analysis of underground water which are closer to solid waste disposal sites to detect evidence of contamination. Monthly sanitation exercise should be reintroduced to curtail environmental contamination, strengthen waste collection and provide adequate containers within communities at short intervals, encouraging both the government and the private sector to increase recycling.