Waste Management Concerns and Sustainable Urban Environment: Lessons from the Location of the Rumueme Ultramodern Abattoir

Authors: Senewo V, Brown I*, Eyenghe T, Wachukwu FC

DOI: 10.23880/oajwx-16000193

Volume 7, Issue 1

Abstract

Location and waste management are crucial issues in the development of abattoirs in an urban environment. The study explored the locational and waste management implications of Rumueme Abattoir to improve sustainability within the urban environment of Port Harcourt City. The study adopted a quantitative approach using a descriptive research design. An impact zone of a 1.5km radius was delineated in the area of study using purposive and simple random sampling techniques to select studied communities and respondents of the study. Taro Yamane formula was employed to determine the sample size for the study at a 5% precision level. A total of 396 respondents were sampled to obtain relevant information for the study. The study found that there are both positive and negative implications for the location of the abattoir in the community. The positive implications highlighted were the growth of the local economy, employment opportunities, proper waste disposal, use of renewable energy, electricity and water supply and social networking. The negative implications were an increase in rents, pollution levels, security challenges, dust particles, indiscriminate dumping of waste, loss of biodiversity and deforestation if the positive implications are not handled properly. The study further revealed that the extent of the waste management methods employed implications positively were adjudged beneficial while the negative implications if the methods employed are not used will have very high negative implications. However, to address these findings, the study recommended that infrastructure and services such as electricity and water supply should be given priority consideration in the environment of the facility, and all stakeholders including government, residents and communities should be involved in the operational process for proper implementation of regulations and standards, a special purpose vehicle should be provided monitor activities within the environment and wastes should be treated before final disposal.

Keywords: Location; Waste Management Implications; Sustainable Urban Environment; Rumueme Abattoir

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