Risk assessment and rehabilitation potential of a millennium city dumpsite in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Abstract

Management of the ever-increasing generated solid waste had been a difficulty for state governments in Nigeria. The high costs connected to this waste management which had encumbered the state budget, ignorance or lack of understanding of resourceful waste management and insensitivity to environmental concerns may have led to partial neglect of this sector. This research paper is aimed at evaluating the rehabilitation potential and the risk level of Igbatoro dumpsite, an Ondo state-managed waste dumpsite which predominantly receives the waste of Akure and its environs. In determining rehabilitation/reconstruction potentials and assessing the risk of the dumpsite, an Integrated Risk Based Approach (IRBA) was considered. The Risk Index (RI) was calculated from the addition of the sensitivity index output with the attribute weightage of the twenty-seven (27) parameters studied. A total risk index of 571.58 was obtained for Igbatoro dumpsite indicating moderate hazard evaluation. Questionnaires distributed to dwellers around the dumpsite also showed that 83.6% of those interviewed agreed that the present management of the dumpsite is poor while 81.8% supported rehabilitation of the dumpsite. Hence, reconstruction of the Igbatoro dumpsite to an endurable and controlled landfill is hereby recommended.