Assessment of Waste Management Practices among Traders in Major Markets in Owerri, IMO State, Nigeria. -

Background: Poor market sanitation due to poor waste management practices is a serious public health problem, as unmanaged wastes from markets which are both bio and non-bio degradable, pose potential health risks for the transmission of diseases. Aim: To assess the waste management knowledge, attitude, and practice among traders within market environments in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. Methods: This was a descriptive cross sectional study design carried out among 400 market traders who own shops in the selected markets and they were enrolled using a proportionate systematic random sampling technique. Information about waste management was collected using a pretested, semi structured, and interviewer administered questionnaire. Results: About 87.6% of the respondents were aware of waste management and the common source of information was from the radio, (74.9%) and market associations, (65.6%). The estimated average quantity of waste generated among traders per shop per day was 7.5±2.5kg. The common type of wastes generated were biodegradable, (94.2%) and recyclable, (82.5%) wastes. The commonest method of waste disposal was open dumping, (96.7%) with majority of the traders not practising waste segregation, (98.2%) before disposal of waste. There was a statistically significant relationships between knowledge (p