CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

          The environment of man lies at the mercy of both natural disasters and negligence on the part of man in the course of controlling the gifts of nature. The ladder takes the form of dumping solid/industrial waste in an uncompromising manner, pollution of rivers, lakes, land and air and the environment in general. In pre-colonial days and up till 1970’s, the disposal of refuse and other wastes did not pose any significant problem. The population was small and enough land was available for the assimilation of wastes. Solid wastes problem started with urban growth resulting from natural increase in population and more importantly from migration to urban centers (Egunlabi, 1996). No town in Nigeria especially the urban and semi-urban centers of high population density can boast of having found a lasting solution to the problems of heaps and huge piles of solid waste, rather the problem continues to assume dangerous dimension (Mba, 2003; Okpala, 1986). To urban and city dwellers, public hygiene starts and ends in their immediate surrounding and indeed the city will take care of itself. The situation has so deteriorated that today the problem of solid waste has become one of the Nations most serious environmental problems.