Solid waste management (SWM) is considered as one of the most immediate and very serious environmental problems
confronting authorities in developing countries like Nigeria. SWM comprises of activities such as collection, transportation and disposal of
solid waste. The aim of this study was to apply GIS technique in solid waste management in Onitsha urban area. This was achieved by
acquiring and digitizing the base map of Onitsha urban environment showing the road networks/streets, water bodies and various land use
patterns. The GPS coordinates of individual waste bins/dump sites and other areas of interests were also acquired. The software used
includes ArcGIS 9.3 version and G7 Towin software. Various analyses to show the potentials of GIS in management of solid waste were
performed. GIS analysis was carried out and several queries were formulated using the query builder in ArcGIS. The database queries
produced maps and pictures. The result of analysis obtained include the location map of the waste bins existing in Onitsha which covered
about 11.86% of the total land mass of the study area, the contour and flow direction over the dump site area as well as the best possible
route for the evacuation of wastes from individual waste bins to the dump site. The findings revealed that there was no waste bin which is
in proximity of 20metres from the two main rivers in the area, the waste bins in the area were not evenly distributed and therefore covers a
little portion of the total land mass of the area. It is therefore recommended that route planning for waste collection vehicles within the
urban area be done by the urban authority. Implementations of vehicular tracking systems like GPS on the vehicles to calculate waste
collection timings should be encouraged. Alternative location for the disposal of the waste dump should be provided so as to protect the
human population living around the road as well as the road users, from the environmental problems it poses.