ABSTRACT
The study was carried out to examine the impacts of improper waste disposal on the campus ecosystem and to evaluate existing waste management strategies at the University of Benin. Further, five (5) research questions and two hypotheses were raised and analyzed for the purpose of this study.
The descriptive survey research design was adopted for this study. The population comprised 44,140 undergraduate students across 16 faculties at the University of Benin. A simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 132 students from four faculties. A self-structured questionnaire was used as the research instrument to collect data from the sample population. The validity of the instrument was confirmed by the supervisor and two other lecturers from the department. The reliability of the instrument was tested using the test-retest method, yielding a reliability score of 0.74 The questionnaire was administered via Google Forms to facilitate efficient data collection. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequency counts and percentages.
The findings revealed that poor Irregular waste collection remains a major issue, leading to waste accumulation, unsanitary conditions, and increased environmental hazards on campus environment. The researcher concludes that improper waste disposal has serious environmental and health consequences, it pollutes the campus, poses health risks, and disrupts a clean learning environment. The researcher made recommendations of encouraging awareness programs, seminars, and workshops to educate the campus community, alongside enhanced recycling and waste sorting initiatives to promote sustainable waste management.
