TRADERS ATTITUDE TOWARDS SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN LAGOS STATE: ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION TO THE RESCUE

Abstract

Solid wastes management in Lagos markets has posed challenges to the government and the citizens because of the hazard involved. Therefore, the study examined how environmental education can be of help in changing the attitude of traders towards solid waste management in Lagos markets. Attitude scale questionnaire which was the instrument used in this study was designed by the researchers. Four (4) markets were chosen within the metropolis due to their characteristics of being large and serve as depot for perishable farm produce. The sample size comprised 120 registered market traders trading in raw farm produce out of a population of 1,000 registered traders in the selected markets. The strata include fruits, pepper, and tomatoes which are highly perishable farm produce. Descriptive statistics such as the simple percentages and frequency counts were used in analyzing the bio-data of the respondents and the research questions while Chi-square (X²) statistical tool was used to test the formulated hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed amongst others that the provision of waste infrastructures will affect the usage by the traders/market women.