Adjusted Research Proposal
Research Title:
ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF 3R-RELATED POLICIES FOR
SUSTAINABLE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN
CITIES: a case study of Lagos, Nigeria.
Research student
Muyiwa Lawrence Adedara
Research Supervisor
Prof. Dr. Hans-Rudolf Bork
Faculty of Mathematics & Natural Sciences
Department of Geography
Institute for Ecosystem Research, University of Kiel, Germany.
1.0 Background
The state of solid waste management across the sub-Sahara and the rest of Africa is characterised
by non-sanitary disposal in landfills and the absence of active efforts in favour of reuse, recycling
and recovery of useful materials prior to disposal (Henry et al., 2006, Mwesigye et al. 2009,
Mohammed et al. 2013 in UNEP, 2018). Urbanization, economic development and population
growth are interrelated with respect to the increasing volume of solid waste in cities (Guerreo et
al., 2013). The World Bank projected that, aggregate figures of waste generation in cities across
the globe will increase by 70% from 2.01 billion tonnes (0.74kg/capita/day) in 2016 to 3.40 billion
tonnes (1.25kg/capita/day) in 2050 (Kaza et al., 2018). The projection in 2010, six (6) years earlier
was 585 million tonnes based on an approximate yearly increase of 6% (Agamuthu et al., 2009)
thus underscoring the urgent need to design sustainable systems of managing wastes, more
importantly in developing countries (Mukhtar et al., 2016) where they are still faced with a number
of challenges (namely, improper disposal methods, infrastructure deficit, absence of effective
legislation, etc) with respect to waste management (Diaz, 2011).
The waste management hierarchy guideline shortened as, “reduce, reuse and recycle” (the 3Rs)
has become an internationally accepted concept that ranks waste management options based on
what is best for the environment and its valuable resources (Gertsakis & Lewis, 2013; Defra, 2011).
The inverted pyramid-shaped ideology emphasizes waste prevention / avoidance at source ahead
of recycling, with disposal in landfill or incineration without energy recovery, as the lease desirable
option to be considered (Perket, 2010; European Commission, 2008). Some studies (Ferrari et al.,
2016; Sakai et al., 2011) have proposed that, for countries to manage waste effectively, there
should be a reference to the application of the waste hierarchy, with due consideration given to
what is locally possible as against direct technology transfer. In developed regions of the world
where the guideline has been successfully applied, an assessment of what works well for the
protection of the environment is first carried out within the ambits of international best practice
and subsequently, a legal framework that incorporates the philosophy of the guideline is prepared
and adopted as a waste management policy (Sakai, et al., 1996). For example, in the European
Union, the Waste Framework Directive, Directive 2008/98/EC (European Commission, 2008) sets
out the principles guiding waste management among member states while each state in turn,
formulates its own policy based on the provisions in the framework. Similarly, in Australia, the
Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2001 regulates waste management (Waste
Authority, 2013) while the US’ Resource Conservation and Recovery Act is the legal framework
for the management of both hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste (EPA, 1976) and in Canada,
the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 is clear on pollution prevention and waste
management with vivid statements on waste reduction, reuse and recycling (Government of
Canada, 2019). Where the guideline is fully applied, benefits such as reduction in greenhouse gas
emissions, stimulation of the development of green technologies, promotion of resource efficiency
and many more are seen to accrue (Petarcic, 2016), although not without its own limitations, like
its limited specification on the implementation of waste prevention and the guideline’s inability to
distinguish between open-loop and closed-loop recycling, among others, which has led to a call
for its improvements in the future (Ewijk & Stegemann, 2014).
In the regions of the world mentioned above and as observed, at least in Germany, where recycling
rate is up to 66% (Climate Action, 2017), there are no reports of indiscriminate dumping of wastes
in public places. Contrariwise, Africa is still grappling with indiscriminate dumping and open
burning of municipal waste (Henry et al., 2006, Mwesigye et al. 2009, Mohammed et al. 2013 in
UNEP, 2018). Lagos, the largest city in the sub-Sahara (Worldatlas.com, 2019) is currently littered
with heaps of municipal solid waste on road kerbs, road median and street corners constituting an
eyesore daily. The Punch Newspaper (2017) reported that, the improper disposal of wastes in
public places in Lagos results in perennial flooding, and more pertinently, Adedara (2018), in a
field research in Lagos observed the indiscriminate dumping of solid waste on road median and
drainages, leaving the city dotted with mounting heaps of uncollected municipal solid waste in
public places with its concomitant health effects (see Fig 1 & 2). There are several literatures that
have analyzed the problems associated with municipal solid waste management in Lagos, with
various recommendations on addressing the issues identified. However, to the best of my
knowledge, subsequent upon extensive literature search with respect to the study area, there has
not been a critical analysis of the existing environmental laws of Lagos using text data mining
techniques with a view to identify specific provisions guiding the implementation of 3R-related
policies. A study of 3R-related policies in Malaysia indicated that there were gaps between existing
policies on solid waste management and what exists in practice, which was ascertained through a
combination of approaches including public surveys (Agamuthu, et al., 2011). This implies that, it
is not enough to have policies governing the management of waste in a society, the effective
implementation of such policies should be accorded attention by the relevant authorities so that
gaps that could prevent the desired outcome of such policies are eliminated. The results of the
study in Malaysia underscores the need to take public opinion into account when formulating
environmental policies.
The present situation in Lagos, where only an estimated 27%´of solid waste is collected out of the
annual target volume of about 4.9 million metric tonnes, leaving 73% unaccounted for (LAWMA,
2019), raises questions on the effectiveness and sustainability of the city’s current waste
management system, especially with respect to the relevance of existing policies in addressing this
perennial issue. This research, therefore, will assess the implementation of the core cardinals of
the waste hierarchy guideline (reduce, reuse & recycle) in tackling the perennial issue of litter
across Africa’s largest city, using a combination of quantitative and field survey approaches.
Bowen (2009) noted that information derived from document analysis (though a qualitative
research method) can be a rich addition to the body of knowledge, especially when it is
supplemented with interviews while text mining has been applied, for instance, in determining
word frequencies related to solid waste management and recycling in a scientific database (Lie et
al., 2018, as cited in Richter et al., 2019).
2.0 Research objectives
I.
Review the environmental policies of Lagos state to identify the provisions that address
resource recovery, waste prevention, waste reduction, reuse and recycling.
II.
Identify and evaluate the factors that prompted the build-up of heaps of municipal solid
waste in public places across the city of Lagos.
III.
Compare waste volume collected by PSP operators (private support program) in selected
local council areas on Lagos mainland and Lagos Island to overall target municipal solid
waste volume indicated by LAWMA (Lagos State Waste Management Authority) from
2015 to 2019 in the areas selected. This exercise would substantiate findings from objective
No II.
IV.
Examine waste reduction trend in Lagos from 2015 to 2019, in metric tons, in the selected
local council areas.
V.
VI.
Assess waste reuse culture in the selected areas at the household and commercial level.
Suggest recommendations that will catalyze value capture from waste, improve collection
rate and eliminate the accumulation of refuse heaps in public places across Lagos.
3.0 Research Methodology
I.
Objective 1: Evaluate Lagos state policies on the environment using text mining technique.
II.
Objective 2: (a) Administer questionnaire survey using the systematic sampling technique
on selected households and commercial premises in the study area. Analyze with SPSS
software.
(b) Structured Face-to-Face interview technique with LAWMA (Lagos State Waste
Management Authority), the waste management regulatory organ of the Lagos state
government. Analyze data with thematic analysis.
(c) Focus Group Interview technique with PSP operators (private waste collectors engaged
by the Lagos state government) to evaluate problems associated with collection in assigned
areas that have resulted in the unending backlog of solid waste littering the streets of Lagos.
Group members from Lagos Island and Lagos Mainland will be picked by systematic
sampling. Carry out content analysis and apply GIS techniques to analyze the collection
system in relation to transportation routes to determine whether their operational
methodology meets the waste volume demand in the assigned zones.
‘a to c’ above are to objectively identify the probable factors responsible for the build-up
of heaps of uncollected MSW from the stakeholders.
(d) Identify locations where there are waste heaps in the selected neighborhoods, determine
the area covered by the heaps with a GPS and relate to road/street width obstructed from
public use. Represent these locations on a map of the area using GIS techniques.
Subsequently, use multiple linear regression to show the relationship between areas
covered by heaps of refuse with the factors responsible for the build-up.
III.
Objective 3: Graphical illustration of total waste volume collected by PSPs in the selected
areas of Lagos mainland & Lagos Island in relation to municipal solid waste targeted for
collection by LAWMA for each year, spread over a 5-year period. Findings here will give
insight on the efficiency of the current waste collection apparatus.
IV.
Objective 4: Analyze waste reduction trend using simple linear regression to describe
waste volume increase or decrease over a 5 -year period. This will assist in making
inferences about the waste reduction efforts of the city government.
V.
Objective 5: Administer a questionnaire survey focused on assessing waste reuse culture
of households and operators of commercial premises. Responses would be analyzed using
content analysis.
4.0 Proposed Mode of Research
Combination of fieldwork and archival / library study.
5.0 Expected Research Contribution
Given that there is presently no traceable text mining analysis of the environmental policies of the
Lagos state government, it is believed that the results derived from such analysis would prove
useful for policy makers and other stakeholders in the environment in improving the state of solid
waste management in Lagos.
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