Environmental and socio-economic impacts of solid waste dumping and burning on the major motorways in developing countries

Population growth, increase urbanization and more demand for goods and services have caused the persistent rise in the volumes of solid wastes generation in the developing countries. This has posed threats to the environment and socio-economic indices. It is challenging that the management is becoming cumbersome as the dumpsites have been on rapid accumulation along major roadsides in Nigeria. This study assessed the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the roadside solid waste dumping and burning vis-à-vis the perceptions of the various groups of road users. Primary data were collected through field observations and interviews from10% of the major motorways. Secondary data from the relevant literatures were integrated to consolidate the research findings. The participants were categorized into three different groups based on their forms of road usage. At P-values 0.33, 0.30 and 0.19 it was concluded that there was no significant mean differences between the perceptions of the people on the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the roadside municipal solid waste dumping and burning. The study concluded that municipal solid waste is a cankerworm which is speedily affecting the human and natural ecosystems. It was recommended that improved management strategies be introduced to ameliorate the environmental and socioeconomic nuisance.