**2. Causes of high waste generation in cities in the Niger Delta**

There are several causes of high waste generation in municipal areas in the Niger Delta, some include: (1) over population (2) poor town planning (3) lack of technology (4) Poor waste management habit and (5) Lack of sorting and recycling culture. Details of these factors are given below.

#### **2.1 Over population**

 Nigeria's population is over 200 million making it the most populous black nation on earth. Out of this number, one-fifth (i.e., 40 million) lives in the southern part of the country known as the Niger Delta region [9]. Each family in the region is made up of an average of six persons. The waste production per person, multiplied by the entire population gives a staggering figure of waste. In the Niger Delta, one person produces approximately 1 kg of waste per day, multiplying this figure with the population size gives an approximate waste load of 40 million kg produced each day for the entire region. With inadequate facility, lack of manpower and poor waste management strategy, it is only one fifth (8 million kg) of the waste that is eventually evacuated daily leaving behind 32 million kg of waste that is not collected and left to litter the streets of the city. Abandoned wastes are scattered by rain and wind and carried into public drains. This blocks the free flow of water leading to flooding.

 Another cause of the increase in population is the migration of people into the cities of the region in search of white collar jobs, which had led to the multiplication of the number of persons already in the city. The Niger Delta serves as the treasure base and the melting pot of the nation because of the abundance of industries, which attracts people from all works of life. It has refineries, oil companies, ports authority, fertilizer company, cement factory, etc. This had attracted people from other regions to migrate into the city in search for jobs. The average rural-urban migration rate is about a 1000 persons per day, which further increase the population. The numbers of persons that come into the cities outnumber the number of persons that go out of the cities. Out of the population that comes in about 2% remain and look for jobs or start small scale business, which generate waste. This adds to the total waste load of the cities in the Niger Delta. Furthermore, lack of data of the population growth rate, migration and emigration rate and waste production had complicated the process of effective waste management by waste

#### **Figure 2.**

*(a) Waste dump site near former mangrove forest taken over by nypa palms at Eagle Island, Niger Delta, Nigeria. (b) Plastic waste in early recruiting mangrove seedling (Rhizophora spp.) brought in by tidal current. (c) Waste washed ashore by tidal current at Eagle Island. (d) Plastic waste recovered from the sea near Eagle Island placed near a mangrove forest awaiting transfer to plastic recycling company.* 

 management agencies in the region. This is because for effective waste management each region should have been divided into sub-districts, and the population known to enable waste managers to understand the waste dynamics. This will help them to plan the number of trips of waste trucks that can completely evacuate waste from the district. Improper waste management in the face of over population is the main reason why people have resorted to self-help, by disposing waste in swamps, rivers and mangrove forest (**Figure 2a**).
