Assessing the composition of hazardous waste in the dump sites of Makerere University

Abstract

There is a steady increase in the rate at which waste is dumped in Makerere University as long as there is a big population of people in the university. This is more evident during the course of academic semesters, when the university is almost at its full capacity. Dump sites in the university are open areas, and are situated in areas where many people often pass, to their destinations. The main aim of carrying out this study was to, to develop an assessment on the composition of hazardous waste in selected dump sites in Makerere University. According to the study, a hazardous waste hazardous waste is a solid waste, or combination of solid waste, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may (a) cause, or significantly contribute to, an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or (b) pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise managed. The wastes in the dump sites were sorted and weighed and it was realized that, the wastes that were observed in selected dumps included plastic, masks, Ewaste, biodegradable waste, clothes, metal, glass, paper etc., as shown in the descriptive table below. The highest minimum weight recorded was 2 kg (biodegradable waste), lowest minimum weight recorded was 0.0 kg (clothes, metal, plastic, glass, diapers), the highest maximum weight was 389 kg (biodegradable waste) and the lowest maximum weight was 2 kg (masks, E-waste, glass, condoms). The highest mean value was 144.750 kg (biodegradable waste) and the lowest was 0.363 kg (condoms). The highest standard deviation was 142.7633 (biodegradable waste) and the lowest was 0.6435 (masks)