Opportunities to tackle apathy in solid waste management in rural integrated urban environment: The case of the Urora community in Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract

In sub-Sahara African countries, there exists apathy towards solid waste management and services. Indiscriminate waste disposal in Urora is addressed through a recent study which uses a combination of concepts from the sense of community, empowerment and phenomenological principles to explore how to engage households with other stakeholders to address the disconnect that has resulted in environmental degradation. The findings revealed that the problem of indiscriminate waste disposal in this community could not be meaningfully understood without understanding their communal living, behaviour and practices as mediated by rituals unmitigated by passage of time. Based on these results, this paper argues that ‘living in the community’ means taking an active part in the settlement’s physical environments for effective income generating opportunities.

Keywords

• apathy
• community
• empowerment
• ritual
• solid waste management