DOI 10.5281/zenodo.7189103 420 | V17.I10 KABALA COSTAIN RESIDENTS AND WASTE DISPOSAL: AWARENESS, ATTITUDE AND WASTE DISPOSAL PRACTICES DANGANA J. 1 , OYERINDE O. 2 OGUNSANMI O. 3 , MANGADA V. 4 and MARSHAL A. 5 1, 2, 3 Department of Public Health, Babcock University Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State Nigeria. 1 Email: danganaj@gmail.com; danganaj@babcock.edu.ng 4 Strategic Planning and Research Dept., Nigeria Shippers Council. 5 Kaduna State Local Government Service Commission ABSTRACT The management of waste is a major public health problem. Developing countries have waste disposal problems which appear to differ from those found in developed countries. The main objective of this study was to determine the awareness, attitudes and waste disposal practices of Kabala Costain residents, Kaduna North Local Government Area, Kaduna State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted in this study. Simple random sampling was used to select 396 respondents from ten clusters of households. A validated questionnaire was used for data collection. Three research questions and three hypotheses were formulated and tested. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics and correlation which were fixed at 0.05 significant level. The result revealed that the level of awareness, attitudes and waste disposal practices of the respondents had a mean score of 9.11, 23.74, and 22.35 respectively. Almost all the respondents were aware that proper waste disposal would result in a clean environment, about 65.6% respondents strongly disagreed that attitudes had influence on the environment, and 27.7% agreed that attitudes influenced their environment. About 62.4% respondents disposed waste at any open space while 31.6% disposed their waste at the prescribed dumpsite. The study concluded that the level of awareness did not influence proper waste disposal practices but attitudinal disposition had an influence on waste disposal practices. It was therefore recommended that waste management agencies should motivate the residents to properly dispose of their waste by providing receptacles near the households and also ensure prompt waste collection services. Keywords: Attitude, Awareness, Environment, Practices Waste disposal INTRODUCTION Ethically, the beauty of any environment lies on its good sanitary condition. However, there are several reports that improper waste disposal is a major challenge facing urban administrators and environmental organizations. The unsanitary conditions of collecting, processing and disposal of solid waste contribute immensely to urban environmental degradation and those found on drains obstruct waterways leading to flood which destroys lives and property and displaces people (Addaney & Anarfiwaah, 2015, Amuda et al., 2014, Butu & Mshelia, 2014). Kaduna Environmental Protection Authority (KEPA) was established to ensure a clean and safe environment. Despite government efforts, people are carefree and still dump waste at places they find convenient to them like open space, major streets and watercourses have been converted into waste dumps sites by dwellers. These actions have led to harmful effect to the environment. Flooding is one of the major public health challenges experienced in Kabala