An empirical study of community involvement in household solid waste management: a case study

In recent times, with the main purpose of enhancing public health, proper management of household solid waste in low-income residential areas of urban centres has gained special attention among scholars in developing countries. From the sociological perspective, perception is one of the key determinants of the people’s behaviour in their society. Therefore this study examined the perception of people about solid waste management and identified the key factors influencing this perception. The study was carried out in the first quarters of 2021 and covered Ife Central Local Government Area of Osun State, South-West Nigeria and adopted cross-sectional research design. Purposive sampling method was used to select 5 electoral wards in the Local Government Area where heaps of dirt was more common and 30 households nearer to the heap in each of the wards respectively. The total sample size of 150 used in the study mainly composed the eldest and active female of each the selected household. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the primary data gathered. This study found that the residents were aware of the health-related challenges resulted from improper management of solid waste and were interested in reducing household solid waste generated. However, methods, the cost, lack of cooperation and nonchalant attitude of people were among the major potential factors militating against achieving this.