INFORMAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT AND LIVELIHOOD DIVERSIFICATION IN ZARIA, NIGERIA.

J.E. Ukoje

Informal solid waste management is associated with the activities of scavengers, waste collectors and pickers, middlemen and processors of mixed waste in the urban areas. The operators engage in these activities to generate employment and income for sustenance. The paper examines the contributions of informal solid waste management to livelihoods of the urban poor in Zaria. Based on the examination of the structure and socioeconomic aspects of solid waste activities, the paper identifies the potentials and challenges of the operators. The paper utilised data collected using questionnaire survey on the operators to collect base line information in order to establish indicators for the study. The principal finding is that apart from the scavengers, all the operators earn income that compares favourably with wages for formal sector employees. As much as 81 percent of middlemen and 75 percent of the reuse and recycling operators earn more than ₦15 000 per month. In addition, the sector has potentials to absorbing low skilled labour as operators require little formal training to undertake the activities. Because of these, the paper advocated for intervention of governments, non-governmental and civil society organisations for raising the productivity of the operators, training and organising cooperative activities to enhance their income.

Key words: Informal solid waste management, Livelihoods, Scavengers, Recycling, Reuse, Middlemen.