Abstract
In African cities that are increasingly urbanizing, municipal solid waste management continues to be a significant environmental governance concern. With a focus on waste creation, storage, collection, disposal, source segregation, public awareness, and service equity, this article assesses municipal solid waste management procedures in Abuja, Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory. A mixed-methods concurrent triangulation design was used. 689 valid survey responses, 494 from households and 195 from institutions, businesses, civil society, and the garbage sector, were used to collect quantitative data. These were supplemented by field observations, policy document review, focus groups with informal waste actors, and interviews with 23 important stakeholders. According to research, Abuja's waste management system is typified by unequal collection coverage, poor source segregation, a lack of knowledge about waste legislation, insufficient infrastructure for recovery, and a persistent reliance on open dumping and burning. 14.4% of household respondents relied on open dumping, 5.1% burnt waste on site, and only 42.3% reported having access to door-to-door collection. Just 26.3% of households acknowledged source segregation, and 66.4% of people said they were unaware of municipal trash requirements. The paper contends that rather than being the result of discrete operational errors, these results are the result of interrelated institutional, behavioral, financial, and infrastructure restrictions. It concludes that Abuja requires an integrated, equitable, data-driven and participatory waste management system that links collection improvement, source segregation, public awareness, informal sector integration, recycling expansion, enforcement and accountability.
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