FACTORS INFLUENCING SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL PRACTICE AMONG RESIDENTS OF JALINGO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, TARABA STATE

Abstract

Solid waste disposal remains a persistent environmental and public health challenge in rapidly urbanising Nigerian towns, and Jalingo, the capital of Taraba State, has witnessed rising waste generation without a corresponding expansion in collection infrastructure and enforcement capacity. This study assessed the factors influencing solid waste disposal practice among residents of Jalingo Local Government Area, Taraba State, examining current disposal practices, socio-demographic factors, availability of waste collection facilities, and environmental sanitation policy enforcement. A descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted, and 400 respondents were selected across five wards of the Local Government Area using a multi-stage sampling technique. Data were collected with a structured, validated questionnaire (Cronbach's Alpha = 0.81) and analysed using SPSS version 27, employing frequencies, percentages, means, and Chi-square tests of independence at a 0.05 significance level. Results showed that residents combined formal and informal disposal methods, with 75.8% using designated dumpsites while comparable proportions burned (74.5%), buried (75.1%), or indiscriminately dumped (76.2%) waste; waste segregation was the least-practised behaviour (46.2%). Only about half of respondents reported adequate collection facilities, and while 59.3% perceived sanitation laws as enforced, 83.0% described enforcement as weak and inconsistent. Chi-square analysis found no statistically significant relationship between socio-demographic factors (p = .263-1.000), facility availability (χ² = 2.921, p = .087), or policy enforcement (χ² = 0.013, p = .911) and disposal practice. The study concluded that infrastructural and enforcement gaps, rather than individual demographic differences, underlie poor disposal practice, and recommended expanded collection infrastructure, strengthened enforcement, and sustained public education on waste segregation.