SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF LOCAL RECYCLERS ALONG GWARZO ROAD

ABSTRACT Recycling is the process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as waste to create new products. Recycling helps to conserve natural resources, reduce landfill waste, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. This study aims to understand the spatial analysis of local recyclers along Gwarzo Road, Kano Metropolis. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining: i. Quantitative data collection: Surveys and GIS mapping to collect data on local recycling activities and their spatial patterns ii. Questionnaire survey to generate solid demography iii. (Personal observations including photographing Only primary data was used for the study. The data used is first hand directly collected by the researcher from the selected respondents for the study. A structured questionnaire was constructed to capture the demographic characteristics of the scavengers, the sources they find these items, types of items scavenged, the economic gains and the challenges being faced. The target population are waste scavengers and a snowballing sampling technique was adopted in selecting the respondents for the questionnaire administration. The findings revealed that the all the scavengers in the study area are males and majority of them are 25year and below of age. Recycled items include bottles, plastics, iron, steel, paper and others. Majority of them uses bare hand and sack bag packing as a means of sourcing and transporting waste materials. Their major challenges include social isolation, fatigue, poor hygiene, injuries, financial issues, lack of adequate infrastructure etc.