HUMAN WASTE MANAGEMENT, STORAGE AND DISPOSAL IN NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS TO RESIDENTIAL APARTMENTS IN IKEJA, LAGOS

Abstract

Human waste is as important to mankind as life itself. As people feed for survival, the process of digestion leads to the production of human waste. Lagos being a Mega city with a population of more than fifteen million, the human waste generated is significant. How the generated human waste is handled is worthy of assessment. This paper examines the methods through which human wastes are collected and disposed in Ikeja residential quarters. The case study has the three classified residential zones of high density, medium density and low density. Sample frame was based on the number of buildings. Findings reveal that, residents across the density zones rely basically on septic tanks for human waste storage, which leads to a recommendation that septic tanks and soakaways be kept at appropriate distances to boreholes and wells, to prevent water contamination.