Publication: Barriers and Solutions for Sustainable Household Waste Management in Lagos, Nigeria
Loading...
Date
2025-01-09
ISSN
Published
2025-01-09
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Waste management is a growing challenge in Nigeria, with major environmental, health, and economic implications for its population. Several factors hinder adequate household waste management practices in Lagos. The infrastructure for waste collection and disposal is lacking, with insufficient waste collection trucks and storage capacity, overflowing and limited dumping sites, and inadequate recycling plants or companies. While these structural gaps will have to be filled to promote sustainable waste management in Lagos, behavioral science can also play a vital role in uncovering how decisions that affect the environment are made. This note sheds light on psychological, cognitive, emotional, cultural, and social factors contributing to waste mismanagement by Lagosians and provides recommendations for overcoming them. Based on a survey and qualitative data collected from residents of Lagos, this document summarizes the challenges that individuals face at various stages of the waste management journey - from planning and shopping, till final disposal.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2025. Barriers and Solutions for Sustainable Household Waste Management in Lagos, Nigeria. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42647 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Argentina - Water Resources Management : Policy Elements for Sustainable Development in the 21st Century, Main Report(Washington, DC, 2000-08-30)The study reviews the challenges water resources management faces, and the opportunities for policy formulation towards sustainable development in Argentina, where regardless of prudent public finances management, water resources management remain disproportionately backward compared to regional, and international best practices. Hence, within a frame of reference on the country's population, institutions, and legal framework, the study examines the current, accelerated degradation of water quality, where arsenic and nitrate pollution are found in groundwater, a main source of drinking water supply in some rural areas, aggravated by the uncontrolled dumping of raw wastewater in urban areas. The uses, and management of drinking water, and sewage are analyzed, revealing eighty-one percent of urban populations are connected to drinking water networks, and only thirty-eight percent to sewer networks. Upon review of the irrigation sector, which accounts for seventy percent of all extractions of water consumption uses, the study shows very low levels of efficiency, compared to similar experiences in other countries. Integrated and modern water management is suggested, and recommendations include: preservation of groundwater resources; promotion of policies, and actions to control surface water pollution; increased coverage to reduce toxicity risks in drinking water; and, modernization of sanitation, and irrigation systems.Publication Improving Solid Waste and Plastics Management in Lagos State(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-11-07)The objective of this study is to enhance understanding and build capacity in Lagos State to improve SWM and reduce marine plastic pollution by promoting sustainable plastic management practices based on the 3 R principles: reduce, reuse, and recycle. The executive summary provides further details on each of these aspects. The information presented in these sections is derived from desk research, stakeholder consultations involving both government and private sector actors, as well as household field surveys conducted in Lagos. This report represents a synthesis of the findings from these analyses. In addition, this work conducted sectoral deep dives, concentrating on the following aspects: (1) emissions of particulate matter and greenhouse gases from municipal solid waste in Lagos State; (2) quantification of plastic waste generation in healthcare facilities (HCF) in Lagos State; (3) waste characterization study at Olusosun dumpsite; (4) plastic hotspot analysis in Lagos State; and (5) an analysis of business models related to plastic waste recycling. Each aspect has been performed as a stand-alone study, and this report serves as their synthesis. The key findings are provided in topic sheets at the end of this report. This report also provides a roadmap for solid waste and plastic management both in Lagos State and Nigeria.Publication Poverty and Environment : Understanding Linkages at the Household Level(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007)This report seeks to present micro evidence on how environmental changes affect poor households. It focuses primarily on environmental resources that are outside the private sphere, particularly commonly held and managed resources such as forests, fisheries, and wildlife. The objectives for this volume are three-fold. It is first interested in using an empirical data-driven approach to examine the dependence of the poor on natural resources. The second objective is to examine the role of the environment in determining health outcomes. A third area of interest concerns the role of policy instruments and reforms. This report uses general economics literature as well as data collected by the World Bank and its partners to analyze poverty-environment linkages at the household level. Poverty-environment linkages are inherently dynamic and involve behavioral responses that make the identification of cause and effect difficult. Thus, questions related to these linkages are ideally answered with the use of panel datasets or with data from randomized experiments.Publication An Innovative and Cost-Effective Solution for Livestock Waste Management in China, Thailand and Vietnam(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-01)The East Asia region is home to more than half the world s stock of pigs and more than one-third of the world s poultry a population that is expected to grow rapidly over the next decades. As a result, about 26 percent of the total area in East Asia suffers from significant nutrient surpluses, mainly from agricultural sources. For instance, the region has a 47 percent surplus of phosphorus and a 16 percent surplus of nitrogen, both from animal manure. This contributes significantly to the degradation of regional water quality. To address this issue, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded the Livestock Waste Management in East Asia (LWMEA) Project. This smart lesson discusses major challenges faced and key lessons learned from implementing that regional project.Publication The Future of Water in African Cities : Why Waste Water? Integrated Urban Water Management, Background Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-12)The primary objective of this report is to provide a coherent and comprehensive review on integrated urban water management (IUWM) approach to assist public authorities to identify and address the future challenges of urban water supply, sanitation and flood management in African cities. This report presents the existing and future challenges in Africa, the possible options for innovative technologies and approaches for their breakthrough and a way forward to achieve the objectives of IUWM. It highlights technical and institutional constraints of the IUWM in Africa. It presents the global and African best practices and trends in IUWM which are linked to urban development and which have very good lessons learnt that can be shared within and among the cities in Africa. The report consists of four chapters. Chapter two reviews the existing condition, future challenges and opportunities in Urban Water Sector (UWS) in Africa. The review covers the current situation of urban water systems and their management approaches; the major future change pressures (climate change, population growth and urbanization, deterioration of infrastructure systems) and their impacts on UWS; and opportunities for implementing the IUWM approach in Africa. Chapter three introduces the key concepts and conceptual framework of IUWM. The framework has been supplemented by appropriate technologies and innovative approaches of IUWM that will be suitable for cities in Africa. This chapter also presents the global experiences and best practices of IUWM that can be shared within the Africa cities. Chapter four presents case studies to demonstrate how the IUWM framework can be operationalized and to select the appropriate technologies and approaches as discussed in chapter 3 based on the different typologies of the cities and development stages in Africa. The typologies include an emerging town in Uganda (Masindi), a city with partially developed infrastructure in Ghana (Accra) and fully developed city in South Africa (Cape Town). Based on the cases, a few recommendations (road map) for the implementation of IUWM approach for other cities in Africa have been presented in chapter four.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication São Tomé and Príncipe - Unpacking Migration Dynamics(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-16)São Tomé and Príncipe (STP), a lower-middle-income small island nation, is undergoing a significant wave of emigration, primarily driven by limited job opportunities and economic prospects, particularly among younger generations. This paper explores migration's drivers, dynamics, and impacts on the country’s economy and social fabric, drawing on a combination of primary and secondary data sources. These include local emigration records, the national social registry, the latest household budget survey, global estimates of migrant stocks and remittance flows, and focus group discussions with migrant families. The findings reveal that at least 18 percent of STP’s population now resides abroad, with numbers growing rapidly. Migration is increasingly dominated by young individuals moving to Portugal, attracted by shared linguistic and cultural ties and facilitated by a recent Community of Portuguese Language Countries mobility agreement. However, migration currently delivers limited economic benefits to STP, as remittances are low, irregular, and constrained by high transfer costs, inadequate financial infrastructure, and migrants’ precarious employment abroad. Socially, migration may also disrupt family structures, particularly affecting children who face challenges in care and emotional wellbeing. Policy recommendations include enhancing migrants’ employability, exploring bilateral migration partnerships, strengthening migration management systems, improving remittance services, and supporting families who remain in the country through social assistance.Publication Poverty and Equity Assessment for El Salvador 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-12-12)This report proposes an agenda for building on gains to re-accelerate poverty reduction among Salvadorans. The last World Bank Poverty Assessment for El Salvador, from 2015, proposed two key policy recommendations: (a) effective pro-poor spending and (b) reduction of crime and violence through better access to jobs and education. Nine years later, the authorities have managed to achieve a substantial reduction in crime and violence and have indicated an intent to build on such progress to establish a path toward an El Salvador where shared prosperity is achievable. In this report, we propose a three pillar structure to address poverty and inequality reduction: jobs, services, and social protection, with a cross-cutting set of primary conditions that articulates this structure.Publication At Your Service?: The Promise of Services-led Growth in Uzbekistan(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-07)In Uzbekistan, the services sector accounts for more than half of all jobs and has been central to the process of structural transformation over the past three decades. In the past decade, the growth of Uzbekistan’s services exports has lagged behind its manufactures' exports while FDI greenfield announcements to both sectors have been even. The growth of the services sector in the past five years was driven by social services, mostly reflecting increased public spending. This report groups the services sector into four categories based on their skill intensity, the extent of their linkages with other sectors, and their tradability in international markets: low-skilled consumer services, low-skilled enabling services , global innovator services. Of these groups, social services accounted for three-fourths of employment growth in the services sector between 2017–2022. These services also experienced relatively high rates of labor productivity growth, which was largely driven by higher public spending on wages and salaries.Publication The Markets and Competition Policy Assessment Toolkit(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-09)The markets and competition policy assessment toolkit (MCPAT) is a guide for understanding how policy can positively shape markets and address market failures that ultimately affect micro- and macroeconomic development issues. The MCPAT aims to support policymakers, competition authorities, and development finance institutions in realizing the advantages of competitive and well-functioning markets by setting the right conditions for firms to improve their economic performance and for markets to allocate resources efficiently. Competitive and well-functioning markets do not just benefit consumers, - they benefit entire economies as they promote productivity, innovation, efficiency, and consumer choice. The goal is not simply to increase the number of firms in a market or to restrict market power but to create an environment where competition can thrive, firms can innovate, and markets can function optimally. The structure of this toolkit follows the steps to conduct an MCPAT analysis in a specific sector or market. Part I provides an overview of key concepts that set the basis for conducting the MCPAT analysis and covers the first step of the MCPAT. Part II focuses on diagnosing market issues. Part III is about how to fix markets.Publication Global Economic Prospects, January 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-16)Global growth is expected to hold steady at 2.7 percent in 2025-26. However, the global economy appears to be settling at a low growth rate that will be insufficient to foster sustained economic development—with the possibility of further headwinds from heightened policy uncertainty and adverse trade policy shifts, geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and climate-related natural disasters. Against this backdrop, emerging market and developing economies are set to enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century with per capita incomes on a trajectory that implies substantially slower catch-up toward advanced-economy living standards than they previously experienced. Without course corrections, most low-income countries are unlikely to graduate to middle-income status by the middle of the century. Policy action at both global and national levels is needed to foster a more favorable external environment, enhance macroeconomic stability, reduce structural constraints, address the effects of climate change, and thus accelerate long-term growth and development.