Activities of informal recycling sector in North-Central, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines the activities of the informal recycling sector in Abuja, Nigeria. This is no formal recycling programme in Abuja. Scavengers carry out waste segregation and identification for recyclable materials. The questionnaires were administered to one thousand, five hundred (1500) scavengers and scrap dealers (stakeholders) to obtain socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. The questionnaires contain age distribution, gender, marital status, education level, working hours, number of stakeholders, citizenship, experience on the job, materials recovered, quantities of recyclables, and income. The majority of the scavengers are between the ages of 21 and 40 years, and they work between 10–12 h. The scavengers are predominantly male. The scavengers sort out recyclables 19.76 kg/c/d. The estimated quantity of recyclables generated in Abuja is 133,688 kg per day (133.688 tons per day). A waste picker earns between N1000 ($2.8) and N1500 ($4.2) per day; itinerant dealers earn between N1500 ($2.8) and N2000 ($5.6) per day, and scrap dealers earn between N10, 000 ($27.77) and N15, 000 ($41.67) per day in Abuja. The activities of stakeholders contribute to the recovery and sorting of secondary waste recyclables. The study highlighted the challenges of scavengers.

Keywords

• Informal sector
• Scavengers
• Abuja
• Waste pickers
• Recycling
• Solid waste