Abstract

Municipal solid waste (MSW) has contributed significantly to flooding in the Lagos metropolis. This study examined the volume of MSW generated using per capita waste generation, projected population, quantity of MSW collected and deposited at six landfills sites from 2007 to 2013. One thousand and twenty-five copies of a structured questionnaire were administered to obtain data. The points where MSW blocked drainage channels in the metropolis were mapped. Multiple regression was used to establish the association between flooding and MSW at p<0.05. A total of 77,757,749.8 tons of MSW was generated, while 27.7% of it was collected and deposited at six landfill sites from 2007 to 2013. 11% of the municipal solid waste was collected by the Lagos State Waste Management Authority, 9.9% by private sector service providers, 29.2% by cart pushers and 49.7% dumped in canals/lagoons. Weekly collection of MSW was 58.5%. The sampled buildings were flooded at an average of nine times.  Two hundred and twenty-two points where MSW blocked drainage channels were identified. The municipal solid waste indicators were statistically significant at F_{2, 1022} = 1034.2, R² = 0.669. The study recommends measures to enhance the strengths and address the weaknesses of the current approaches towards the attainment of global best practices in the management of MSW and flooding in the Lagos metropolis.

Key words: Flood, municipal solid waste, generation, collection, drainage channels.