DETERMINANTS OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY PRACTICES AMONG SOLID WASTE SCAVENGERS IN OWERRI, NIGERIA

Abstract

Behavioural tendencies that affect the attitude of waste scavengers towards health and safety risks associated with handling municipal waste coming from multiple streams are poorly understood. The study assesses occupational health and safety (OHS) practices among solid waste scavengers in Owerri metropolis, to ascertain determinants of risk factors associated with waste scavenging. The study was conducted within Owerri Urban, where data collection involved a cross-sectional survey of 468 solid scavengers. The study findings show that about 80% of surveyed waste scavengers sort/separate waste manually, with 39.5% operating without PPE. Chemists/pharmacists and herbalists are most frequently consulted for health challenges by 70.7% of surveyed waste scavengers. Metals and batteries are the waste materials with the most potential to cause harm, as posited by 58.9% of surveyed waste scavengers. The study found that 'Hours of waste scavenging in a day' (R = .220, p = .000), was the only variable that was statistically significant in predicting injuries due to waste scavenging activities. 'Age' (R = .117, p = .011), 'Hours of waste scavenging in a day' (R = .146, p = .002), 'Days of waste scavenging in a week' (R = .180, p = .000), 'Monthly income from waste scavenging' (R = .093, p = .045) and 'Waste scavenging experience' (R = .095, p = .041) were all statistically significant in predicting illness due to waste scavenging activities. Due to their role in reducing overall waste volume in urban centres, it is recommended that more efforts be made towards providing waste scavengers with better PPE.