Food waste among Nigerian communities constitutes a major environmental problem.
This study was carried out in Ibadan, a highly populous indigenous city, the capital of
Oyo State. As most of the families are traditional, food is prepared in the house at least
twice daily. Various foods consumed by the households were assessed for one week for
the quantity of waste generated during processing. The foods included grains, vegetables,
fruits, meat, and others. Depending on the food item processed, the amount of waste
generated ranged between 0 to 61 per cent of the total waste and is still the largest
component of the waste stream. Corn, tubers, plantains generated more waste. For
household management of these biodegradable wastes, a simple household composting
bin was designed and tested using a family of about 7 to 8. The bin is made from a used
drum with a cutting and stirring device for the food residuals. The bin takes waste for
about 4 weeks and at the end of 45 days, the finished compost was taken out and used for
backyard gardening. This type of onsite composting involving individual families may
find useful in sustainable management of household wastes.