Waste Characterization and Management Strategies in Gombe; A panacea towards sustainable development

Abstract

Rapid urbanization across sub-Saharan African cities has intensified municipal solid waste (MSW) management challenges, with significant implications for environmental quality, public health, and sustainable urban development. This study assessed waste characterization, generation dynamics, management practices, and resource recovery potential in Gombe, Nigeria, to inform sustainable waste management pathways. A secondary-data-based meta-analytical design was adopted, synthesizing evidence from peer-reviewed literature, government and institutional reports, and the Gombe State Environmental Protection Agency using descriptive statistics, chi-square analysis, and thematic analysis. Results revealed that Gombe’s waste stream is dominated by biodegradable fractions, particularly organic food waste (36-38%) and agricultural waste (34.3-41.0%), with plastics contributing 11.4-18.4%. Mean annual waste generation for 2010-2019 was estimated at 138,749.7 tonnes, while per capita generation reached 0.84 kg/person/day, exceeding the typical range for low-income urban settings. Population growth and waste generation showed no statistically significant association (p = 0.231), indicating that collection, reporting, and disposal inefficiencies are more influential than demographic growth alone. Resource recovery analysis showed that composting could divert 75% of biodegradable waste from disposal sites, anaerobic digestion could generate 67.75 million kWh/year, and co-digestion could raise energy recovery to 81.30 million kWh/year, enough to serve over 44,000 households while producing digestate valued at about ₦813 million/year. The study concludes that Gombe’s waste system remains predominantly linear, disposal-oriented, and environmentally unsustainable. An integrated framework combining source segregation, composting, recycling infrastructure, anaerobic digestion, formalization of informal waste actors, and public-private partnerships is recommended to advance circular economy transition and urban sustainability in Gombe and comparable Nigerian cities.