Journal of Environment and Waste Management

Vol. 6(1), pp. 283-289, January, 2019. © www.premierpublishers.org, ISSN: 0274-6999

Research Article

Novel Methods of Plastic Wastes Management among

Students of Secondary Schools in Ibadan, Nigeria
1Ana G.R. E. E., 2Oyenibi A. Oluseyi, 3Hammed T.B.*
1,2,3Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Faculty of Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan,
Ibadan, Nigeria.

Plastic wastes contribute significantly to the volume of wastes generated in secondary schools.
This study aims at providing student-oriented methods of managing plastic wastes. Using a
quasi- experimental study design, a 3-stage random sampling technique was used to select two
secondary schools: Oritamefa Baptist Model School (O.B.M.S) and Anglican Commercial
Grammar School (A.C.G.S), from which 245 students were proportionately selected. A
questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics, waste management
practices and knowledge on appropriate management methods of plastic wastes. Also, 10-item
observational checklist was used for physical characterization of wastes generated in the schools
over one-month period. Descriptive statistics and student paired t-test were used for data
analysis at a 5% level of significance. The mean ages were 15.8±1.8 years and 14.1±1.0 years for
A.C.G.S and O.B.M.S respectively. At baseline, A.C.G.S had a greater mean knowledge score (13.3
± 3.4) than O.B.M.S (12.5± 5.5), though not significant. After the intervention, O.B.M.S had a
significantly higher mean knowledge score (15.9± 5.1) than A.C.G.S (14.6± 4.3). Proportions of
plastic waste generated at O.B.M.S and A.C.G.S were 25.4% and 33.3% respectively. The student-
oriented training intervention increased knowledge of craftsmanship in plastic waste
management in the secondary schools.

Key words: Craftsmanship in waste, Plastic waste management, Secondary schools, Waste characteristics

INTRODUCTION

Waste is defined as any unavoidable material resulting

from domestic activity or industrial operation for which
there is no economic demand which must be disposed of
(Sridhar, 1996). Irrespective of the social and economic
status, man must inevitably generate wastes of various
forms which include gas, liquid and solid on daily basis.
Inefficient waste management has the potential to damage
the environment and cause adverse effects to man’s
health (Adeolu et al., 2014). Solid waste management has
gained notoriety in Nigeria today because of its visibility
and the embarrassment it has constituted to the image of
the nation (Agagu, 2009). Only few state capitals in Nigeria
have been able to put in place fairly sustainable urban
waste management programmes. It is a common sight to
find mountains of waste littered all over our cities for days
or even weeks with no apparent effort displayed at getting
rid of them, even with the attendant risk of air and ground-
water pollution.
Plastics have replaced many previously used materials
like wood, metal and leaf. Plastic waste is becoming
increasingly accumulated in our environment as we use
plastics more and dispose it poorly (Ukpong and Peter,
2011). However, plastics are non-biodegradable and, as a
result, cannot be eliminated either by land filling or burning.
The use of landfills to dispose plastic wastes reduces
water infiltration into the soil, prevents plant roots from
growing and negatively affects decomposition of organic
matter. Burning of plastic wastes produces great amounts
of harmful gases, which are deleterious to human and the
*Corresponding Author: Taiwo Babatunde HAMMED,
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Faculty of
Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan,
Ibadan, Nigeria. Email: hammetab2003@yahoo.co.uk,
Tel: +234-08054718224. Fax: 234-2-8103043

Novel Methods of Plastic Wastes Management among Students of Secondary Schools in Ibadan, Nigeria
Ana et al. 284
environment. Also, breakdown of plastic materials after
exposure to environmental factors does not mean
degradation since it leaves plastic residues and dust
behind. Meanwhile, accumulation of plastics in the
environment results in blocked drains, increase in
incidence of water related diseases, and general decline
in the aesthetic value of the environment. It has also been
observed that fish and other marine species in the water
ways swallow some plastic materials as food items and die
(Ms.suja, 2013).
Generally, the major types of wastes generated in schools
are paper, plastics and food wastes (Wahab, 2003).
Though schools are mainly known to generate paper
wastes since they are academic institutions, their wastes
compositions are similar to residential wastes. Owing to
the large consumption of plastic packed items by
secondary school students, consisting of food brought
from home as well as those purchased in school, plastic
wastes generation is on the increase in Nigerian
secondary school environment. At present, there are
insufficient and non-effective facilities in most schools to
meet up with the ever increasing rate of waste generation.
As such, many schools have resorted to open burning
while some others engage in indiscriminate waste disposal
methods that usually cause various problems to the
neighbourhood and the society at large.
In addition, poor waste management in schools has been
reported to result in high level of pollution especially in
public schools. This level of pollution could be attached to
factors like unavailability of proper waste management
facilities, laissez-faire attitude on the part of students and
school authority as well as inadequate knowledge on best
management practices for wastes. Appropriate knowledge
Figure 1: Map of Ibadan North Local Government Area (insets: the map of Oyo State and Nigeria)
Novel Methods of Plastic Wastes Management among Students of Secondary Schools in Ibadan, Nigeria
on the management of plastic waste will reduce the
resources spent on waste disposal in schools. Training of
the students on appropriate methods of plastic waste
management will also help in building their capacities on
conversion of waste to wealth. Thus, this study was carried
out to assess the plastic wastes generated in selected
public and private secondary schools in Ibadan North local
government area, Nigeria, with the aim of imparting
knowledge of creative and sustainable plastic waste
management among the students.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study area
Ibadan North Local Government Area (LGA) was founded
by the Federal Military Government of Nigeria on 27th
September, 1991. The LGA was carved out of the defunct
Ibadan Municipal Government along with others. It covers
a large expanse of land with an area of about 420 sqm.
The Headquarters of the Ibadan North LGA is located at
Agodi. In the North and East, the LGA is bounded by
Akinyele and Lagelu LGAs respectively while in the West
it is bounded by Ido, Ibadan South-West and Ibadan
South-East LGAs (Fig. 1). The Ibadan North Local
Government Area is heavily populated with an estimated
population of 316,612 people. Anglican Commercial
Grammar School is a mixed school in Ibadan North Local
Government Area with an average population of 4000
students. It is a public school which consists of a junior and
a senior section. On the other hand, Oritamefa Baptist
Model School is a private and faith-based school with an
average population of 6000 students.
 J. Environ. Waste Manag. 285

Data collection procedures Table 1: Respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics

Variable Public Private
A 47-item validated and pretested questionnaire was used School (%) School (%)
to assess baseline knowledge and practice of students on Sex
plastic waste management. Also, characteristics of wastes Male 47.0 47.3
generated in the study schools was assessed, using 10- Female 53.0 52.7
item checklist. For characterization, wastes were Religion
collected, sorted and weighed daily, over a one-month Christianity 51.5 91.6
period and consequently the density and percentage Islam 47.4 3.8
composition of the collected plastic wastes were Traditional Religion 1.1 3.8
calculated. A 2-day training programme on novel methods Others 0 0.8
of plastic waste management through craftsmanship was Ethnic group
conducted for the students and this was wrapped up with
Yoruba 84.5 90.1
creation of products like mats, caps and purses. The
Igbo 9.3 3.1
students were followed up for three months with proper
Hausa 3.1 3.1
guidance. At the end of this training intervention, the same
questionnaire that was administered at the baseline was Others 3.1 3.8
re-administered to students to assess their post-training Occupation of father
knowledge and practices. Civil service 29.9 72.5
Trader 45.4 11.5
Data management and statistical analysis Artisan 12.4 1.5
Farmer 6.2 0.8
The results were summarised, using descriptive statistics others 5.2 9.9
such as frequencies, percentages, tables, charts and Occupation of mother
figures. The mean knowledge and practice scores at pre- Civil service 11.3 77.9
and post-intervention were statistically analysed by using Trader 79.4 11.5
student t-test to evaluate the significant effects of the Artisan 4.1 1.5
training on students’ knowledge and practices of plastic House wife 3.1 4.6
waste management. Mean values were compared by others 1.0 3.1
Duncan’s test at 5% level of significance with the aid of Level of education of father
SPSS version 20. Primary 4.1 3.8
Secondary 57.7 2.3
Tertiary 36.1 91.6
RESULTS Level of education of mother
Primary 9.3 5.3
Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents
Secondary 56.7 3.8
Tertiary 32.0 88.5
The mean ages of the respondents were 15.8±1.8 years
and 14.1±1.0 years for public and private schools,
Types and rate of wastes generation in the schools
respectively. Majority of the respondents (81.7%) were
within the age range of 15-17 years. Those aged 12-14
The major types of wastes generated in the schools were
years were 9.8%while 8.5% of them were above 17 years
organic waste, paper waste and, hard and soft plastics.
from both schools. There were more female respondents
Other wastes generated in small proportions were glass,
than male in both schools. Males were 47% and 47.3% in
wood, metal, textiles, electronic waste and dust. Plastic
public and private schools respectively while females were
waste was ranked highest among the types of wastes
53% and 52.7% in public and private schools respectively.
mostly generated in the public secondary school (33.3%)
In terms of father’s occupation, largest percentage of the
while organic waste was ranked highest in the private
students in private school (72.5%) reported that their
school (40.4%) as shown in Fig. 2.
fathers were civil servants, compared to 29.9% of their
counterparts in public school. Also, in public school, the
Knowledge of students on plastic waste management
highest level of respondent fathers’ education was
secondary school (57.7%) against tertiary education
Table 2 shows results of respondents’ knowledge of waste
(91.6%) that was reported by the respondents in private
management including waste sorting at the source. Before
school. Large proportion of respondents in public school
the training intervention, 67.0% and 72.9% from the public
(56.7%) had mothers with a secondary education; while
and private schools respectively knew two main categories
respondents in private school (88.5%) had mothers with a
of plastics (thermoplastics and thermosets).There were
tertiary education as shown in Table 1.
higher proportions of those that could identify the
categories of plastics correctly after the training

Novel Methods of Plastic Wastes Management among Students of Secondary Schools in Ibadan, Nigeria
Ana et al. 286

recycling at baseline (70.1% Vs 67.7%) and post-

intervention (82.0% Vs 87.7%) for both public and private
schools respectively.

Responses to knowledge questions on plastic wastes

Figure 2: Average wastes generated in the schools per
month
intervention: 86.6% (public school) and 84.9% (private
school). Also, there were differences in respondents’
responses to the question asked in relation to separation
of hard and soft plastics into different groups prior to
recycling are depicted in Fig. 3-5. At baseline, 60.8% Vs
75.5% of respondents indicated correctly that the best way
to manage plastic wastes is through reuse/recycling from
public and private schools respectively while 61.0% Vs
80.8% from both public and private schools respectively
answered the question correctly at post-intervention
(Figure 3). Respondents who indicated that sawdust could
not be an intermediate product of plastic recycling were
42.6% and 69.3% at baseline and 44.0% and 72.6% at
post intervention for both public and private schools
respectively (Fig.4). As shown in Figure 5, 31.8% Vs
60.4% of respondents from public and private school
respectively indicated that tissue paper could not be
produced from recycled plastics at baseline against 43.0%
and 61.5% at post-intervention for both schools
respectively.

Table 2: Respondents’ knowledge on plastic waste management at pre-and post- intervention

Baseline Post-Training
Knowledge (%) Knowledge (%)
Variable Public Private Public Private
school school school school
Plastics are majorly divided into thermoplastics and thermosets
Yes 67.0 72.9 86.0 84.9
No 22.7 7.0 14.0 1.4
Undecided 9.3 19.4 0 9.6
There are more than 50 types of materials known as plastics
Yes 73.2 42.6 78.0 68.5
No 14.4 11.6 18.0 12.3
Undecided 11.3 45.0 4.0 15.1
Plastics wastes is best sorted where it is generated to avoid mixing with other
wastes
Yes 71.1 63.1 88.0 83.6
No 18.6 7.7 8.0 8.2
Undecided 9.3 28.5 4.0 6.8
Hard plastics and soft plastics should be sorted into different groups prior to
recycling
Yes 70.1 67.7 82.0 87.7
No 21.6 12.3 6.0 4.1
Undecided 6.2 19.2 2.0 6.8
Waste paper and plastic spoon should be put together after sorting
Yes 47.4 19.4 48.0 26.0
No 49.5 58.9 52.0 57.5
Undecided 2.1 20.9 0.0 13.7
Plastic wastes are separated based on different polymers before recycling
Yes 57.7 51.2 80.0 80.8
No 27.8 12.4 14.0 11.0
Undecided 13.4 35.7 6.0 4.1

Novel Methods of Plastic Wastes Management among Students of Secondary Schools in Ibadan, Nigeria

Figure 3: Responses to the question on the best way
to manage plastic wastes (%)
Figure 4: Responses to the question on ‘Which of the
options is not an intermediate product of plastic
recycling (%)
Figure 5.Responses to the question on which of the
options cannot be produced from recycled plastics
(%)
Novel Methods of Plastic Wastes Management among Students of Secondary Schools in Ibadan, Nigeria
J. Environ. Waste Manag. 287
Comparison of mean knowledge scores of
respondents before and after Intervention
At baseline the mean knowledge score (13.3 ± 3.4) on
plastic wastes management was higher in students of
public school (13.3 ± 3.4) than private school (12.5± 5.5),
though the mean difference (0.82) was not statistically
significant (t = 1.34, p = 0.17). After intervention the mean
knowledge scores were (15.1± 3.9) and (17.0± 5.0) for the
public and private schools respectively. For both schools,
the differences in knowledge scores before and after
intervention were significant (t = -2.1, p = 0.04).
Students’ artwork and craftsmanship arising from the
training intervention
After the training on novel methods of plastic wastes
recycling, students at both schools came up with the
creation of useful and decorative items such trophy,
shower cap, mat, wallet and other decorative items (Fig. 6-
8).
Figure 6: Trophy made from waste plastics
Figure 7: Christmas decoration made from plastic
waste bottles
Ana et al. 288
Figure 8: Sleeping mat made from water sachet
DISCUSSION
The major types of wastes generated in both schools were
organic waste, paper, and plastics. This is in line with the
findings of some other studies which confirmed that school
wastes are majorly composed of organic wastes, paper
and plastics (Wahab, 2003; Ana et al., 2011). Other
studies also reported that major types of commercial and
institutional wastes generated in developing countries
include paper, cardboards, plastics, wood, food waste,
glass, metal, special wastes and hazardous wastes
(Oyelola and Babatunde, 2008). The organic wastes
generated in public school was more of the leaves swept
by the students in the early hours of the day; while the
major organic wastes in private school was from the food
served to students by the school authorities during the
lunch break. Paper being a predominant waste in both
schools was not unexpected since the school is an
academic institution. Plastic wastes were more in the
public school probably due to lack of potable water supply
in those schools and a major source of the plastic waste
was water sachets. Plastic wastes in the private school
consisted majorly of hard plastics, which were plastic
bottles as well as food packs. The private school had a
negligible proportion of water sachets in its waste stream
due to the availability of potable water supply.
Wood, glass, textile, e-waste and metal were also found in
minor quantities in both schools. Wood usually came from
broken furniture especially in the public school. Textile
might be generated from students’ socks and other wears;
metal from cutleries and cans while e-wastes might be
from calculators (Mshelia, 2015). Presence of a school
football field and untarred yards could account for the
higher dust waste composition in the public school than the
private school which had cemented floors and no football
field. The waste generation pattern was fairly regular in
both schools. However, low quantities of waste were
recorded after the examinations as the period was
characterized by low school attendance.
Novel Methods of Plastic Wastes Management among Students of Secondary Schools in Ibadan, Nigeria
The findings of this study support that of a previous study
which reported that most secondary school students have
at least average knowledge on waste management
(Ifegbesan, 2008). Majority of the respondents have at
least heard about waste sorting and waste recycling
although they had not seen it being practiced in their
homes or in the schools (Mrema, 2008; Adeolu et al.,
2014). The findings are however at variance with a study
conducted in Turkey which concluded that students do not
have adequate awareness and sensitivity in environmental
issues and recycling (Mutlu, 2013). Meanwhile, another
study in Turkey recorded an increase in the knowledge of
students on solid waste sorting as well as recycling after a
training intervention (Gonca et al., 2015) which is very
similar to what was observed in this study.
Students of the private school performed better than their
counterparts in the public school, considering their
knowledge on plastic waste management. The observed
difference could be linked to the educational background
of the parents as well as their occupations. Most of the
parents of the private school students were reported to
have a tertiary education and work as civil servants; while
most of those of the public school were reported to have a
secondary education and work as traders. Earlier on, a
study observed a significant difference in academic
performance of students from parents with high
educational background and students from parents with
low educational background (Alokan et al., 2013). This
observed difference in knowledge of students also agrees
with the findings of Usaini and Abubakar (2015) who report
that students from a parent with formal occupation perform
well than those from parents with informal occupation. The
creation of useful and decorative items from supposed
wastes may further help in building their capacities and
improve their knowledge. Debora et al. (2014) has
demonstrated this in a study involved the use of PET
bottles to construct a kitchen garden in Brazil. They
revealed that the training and creative management of
plastic wastes contributed to improvement in students’
general knowledge.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The major types of wastes generated in the schools were
organic waste, paper waste and, hard and soft plastics.
Public schools could be major sources of soft plastic
wastes such as water sachets, produced in Nigeria. The
training intervention on novel methods of plastic waste
management in secondary schools improved students’
knowledge in craftsmanship from plastic wastes. The
outcome of the training led to the production of various
useful items such as trophy, shower cap, mat, wallet and
other decorative items. This study generally provided a
suitable option for the proper management of plastic
wastes in the schools. The method of plastic wastes
recycling proffered by this research is believed to be both
novel and sustainable as it actively involved the students

of the study schools and the materials needed are readily
accessible. It is equally believed to support environmental
preservation as it will convert waste materials into useful
products, reducing the bulk of wastes disposed in the
schools.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to technical supports from staff in
the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Faculty
of Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan,
Nigeria. We are also grateful to the management and
students of both Oritamefa Baptist Model School
(O.B.M.S) and Anglican Commercial Grammar School
(A.C.G.S) who contributed to successful completion of this
study.
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Accepted 11 January 2019
Citation: Ana GREE, Oyenibi AO, Hammed TB (2019).
Novel Methods of Plastic Wastes Management among
Students of Secondary Schools in Ibadan, Nigeria. Journal
of Environment and Waste Management, 6(1): 283-289.
Copyright: © 2019: Ana et al. This is an open-access
article distributed under the terms of the Creative
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