ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF SHOPPING BAGS IN NIGERIA
ABSTRACT
The study found out that the condition of shopping bag littering has gone from bad to worse due to unchecked littering. Besides visual pollution, Plastic shopping bag litter is non-biodegradable and thus accumulates. Its disposal method is a challenge as Plastic shopping bag waste recycling is not economically viable. Plastic shopping bag litter contributes to a blockage of sewers and drainages, poses a threat to biotic species and abiotic components when incinerated, buried, or dumped.
Furthermore, when filled with rainwater, Plastic shopping bag paper bags litter become breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which cause malaria. In landfills, it acts as a habitat for vectors that transmits pathogens like flies and rodents. There is no immediate alternative that is likely to replace Plastic shopping bags in the near future… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
According to the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), “FM is the practice of coordinating the physical workplace with the people and work of the organization”. It integrates the principles of business administration, architecture and the behavioral and engineering sciences FM covers these two main areas: ‘Space & Infrastructure’ (such as planning, design, workplace, construction, lease, occupancy, maintenance, furniture, and cleaning) and ‘People & Organization’ (such as catering, ICT, HR, accounting, marketing, hospitality).
Sustainability is also an important aspect of FM practice, it deals with conserving and enhancing the community’s resources so that ecological processes on which lives depend are maintained and the total quantity of life now and in the future can be increased. “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestor we borrow it from our children” (Iroquois Nation – Sustainability, Facility Management & IFMA 2012), a facility management professionals must focus on ecologically sustainable development in areas such as waste reduction, recycling, energy and resource management, and other similar strategies.
As the demand for environmentally friendly and high-performance buildings escalates, it is also essential to study some of the practices in our wider community that currently contribute to an unnatural deterioration of the environment at either local or global levels. This project thus seeks to study the impact of polythene and Plastic shopping bags waste on our environment especially as it affects Lagos state… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Statement of Problems
Plastic shopping bag pollution is a problem that has truly ‘gone global’. Fragment of plastics has been carried by planetary-scale ocean currents to the remotest corners of the world, including both Arctic and Antarctic wilderness areas. Action is needed at a range of scales to address the degradation of Earth’s oceans and shorelines by Plastic shopping bag debris (Simon Oakes 2010)… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Research Objectives
The aim of this study is to examine the impact of polythene and Plastic shopping bags on the Lagos environment and show the reason why producing biodegradable Plastic shopping bags is the only way to reduce drastically the current huge polythene and Plastic shopping bags waste being generated in Lagos State.
The specific research objectives are as follows:
- To analyses the impact of waste generated through polythene and Plastic shopping bags in
- To assess the contribution of recycling and incineration of polythene and plastics bags in the elimination of the current 23% Plastic shopping bag waste being generated in Lagos… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
LITERATURE REVIEW
Conceptual Review
Littering is a condition where waste is strewn or scattered about; resulting in a condition of disorder or untidiness (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 1997). Accordingly, Plastic shopping bag litter consists of waste Plastic shopping bag carrier bag that has been disposed of improperly, in an inappropriate location by means of throwing the waste Plastic shopping bag onto the ground as opposed to disposing of them properly.
The distinction between dumping and littering is defined by volume, the location of the disposed waste, or the method of waste disposal, (Collins Thesaurus Dictionary, 2002)… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
The Origin and Global Spread of Plastic Shopping Bag
Plastic shopping bags were designed and made from a Plastic shopping bag by Swedish engineer Sten Gustaf Thulin in the 1960s . The design was patented worldwide by Celloplast; a well-established company in plastics processing in 1965 (Cherrier,2006). The Company’s patent position gave it a virtual monopoly on plastic shopping bag production, and the company set up manufacturing plants across Europe and in the US.
Other companies saw the attraction of the Plastic shopping bag, too, and the US petrochemicals group Mobil overturned Celloplast’s US patent in 1977… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Theoretical Framework:
This study was be informed by the structural-functional theory of social change, the theory of social disorganization, anomie or strain theory, and learning theory of behaviorism.
- Structural –functional Theory of Social Change
Social change refers to modifications of the way people seek ultimate meaning in life (Gerth, 1953). According to Gerth (1953), these modifications may include, the introduction of new techniques, new ways of making a living, and changes in place of residence, new innovations, ideas, and social values. Many sociologists view social change as a change in the structure of society or alteration of the social structure (Ginsberg, 1958).
Others stress that social change is not only a change in the structure but also in the functioning of society, (Allen, l97l). Social change is also conceptualized as the process of planned or unplanned qualitative or quantitative alterations in social phenomena, (Vago, 1996)… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
Research Design
Research design is a comprehensive master plan of the research study to be undertaken, giving a general statement of the methods to be used. The function of a research design is to ensure that requisite data in accordance with the problem at hand is collected accurately and economically, (Adams (1985).
Adams (1985) describes research design as an understanding of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a way that combines their relationships with the research to the economy of procedures. Adams (1985) suggests that research design deals with the detailing of procedures that will be adopted to carry out the research study… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
Introduction
This study presents the data analysis and interpretation of the results. The analysis was done as per questionnaires that were used to collect data. The study targeted a population of 120 respondents and they all responded giving a response rate of 100% which according to Mugenda Mugenda (1993) a response rate of more than 80% is sufficient enough for the study.
Gender of the respondents
The respondents were asked to show their gender. This was expected to guide the researcher on the conclusions regarding the degree of congruence of responses with the gender characteristics. Figure 4.1 below shows the study finding.
Figure 4.1: Gender Response
The results as in figure 4.1 show that majority of the respondent were female at 55% while the male was 45%. The results of gender distribution indicate that the female gender is more than men in Apapa. It can be attributed to the number of factors such as environment gender adaptation, gender urbanization, and natural sex ratio theory of 1:5. Generally in any society, if the ratio of men: women remain at 1:1; the society is likely to experience a strain in the co-existence equilibrium… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Distribution of Age Group
The respondents were asked to disclose their age. The figure below shows the study findings:
Figure 4.2: Plastic shopping bag Usage by Age
The results presented in figure 4.2 show that a large proportion of 46.7% of the respondents was aged between the ages of 21 to 30 years; this was followed by a significant percentage 33.3% that were aged between 31-40 years. 8.3% were aged 41-50 years, 5% were aged 18-20 years 4.2% were aged 61-70 while 2.5% were aged between 51-60 years.
The conclusion drawn from the above table indicates that the majority of the Apapa residents are primarily young people who should be given adequate considerations in finding solutions to Plastic shopping bag littering… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusion
The process of urbanization in Nigeria has provided the impetus for social disorganization or anomie. The result is that the collective purposes of the society are less fully realized than they could be under a different, better-organized system. When there is no provision of a shared set of priorities among these competing obligations, the individual’s behavior has become unpredictable in the urban setup.
The anomy existing in the urban set up has been exploited by the capitalist to sell their merchandize uncontrollably. Capitalism is an open-ended, internally contradictory process and it produces manifest and latent functions that are difficult to predict and control. Capitalism has dynamics that are driving social changes that are full of new risks called “manufactured risks” that are incalculable in origin and indeterminate in their consequences.
These risks are created by the impact of human knowledge and technology on the natural world… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Recommendation
Because there is no roadmap to these new dangers and risks for capitalism, modernity or urbanization that has resulted in Plastic shopping bag littering impacting on biotic species and abiotic components adversely, individuals, counties, organizations and the government of Nigeria including the international community of states also known as “global risk society” must negotiate risks as they make choices how to live is to be lived… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
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