ANALYSIS OF POLYTHENE AND PLASTIC BAG WASTES GENERATION AND DISPOSAL IN ABA URBAN, ABIA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The term ‘plastics’, include materials made up of various chemical elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine and sulfur (fobil and hogarh2021).waste is defined as unwanted and unusable materials and is regarded as a substance which is of no use. world’s annual consumption of plastic materials has increased from around 5 million tonnes in the 1950s to nearly 100 million tonnes (jefferson, 2021).this implies that: more resources are being used to meet the increased demand of plastic, and more plastic waste is being generated. due to lack of integrated solid waste management (iswm), most of the plastic waste is neither collected properly. in developing countries, rapid population growth, urbanization and industrial growth have led to severe problem of waste generation in urban centers. the statement of the research problem make a cursory look at aba cityscape, leaves an observer with more to wander whether polythene and plastic bags are part of the soil constituents and environmental aesthetic display, particularly as polythene and nylon bags litterall over the city environs.aba being a mega commercial center, witness rapid population growth, and this growth appears to be associated with increase in the use of consumable goods packaged and wrapped in cellophane and plastic bags, with adverse consequences like environmental littering, clogging of inland waterways, environmental injustice, and devaluation of urban aesthetic quality, among many others. findings from available literatures so far reviewed, shows that the subject under investigation has been attempted at various aspects of human endeavors such as, brazil, south africa, port harcourt, lagos and ibadan. however, none has been carried out in south eastern nigeria, let alone aba urban. it is, therefore, the need to fill this gap in literature that the research is necessitated.sequel to the statement of the research problem, and aim of the study, it is expected that the study when completed will procure feasible measures, by recommendation practicable ways of ameliorating environmental impacts occasioned by incessant use of polythene and plastic products in aba urban, consequently, contributing significantly to the body of global knowledge, especially in the aspect of environmental solid waste management.