ABSTRACT
This study assessed the pesticide waste disposal patterns among users in floricultural gardens in Benin metropolis. The specific objectives were to; describe the socioeconomic characteristics of pesticide users in floricultural gardens, examine the patterns of pesticide wastes disposal adopted by pesticide users in floricultural gardens, examine the perception of pesticide users on pesticide waste disposal patterns, identify the pesticides used in the floricultural gardens, determine the challenges facing pesticide waste disposal among users in floricultural gardens in Benin metropolis. Sixty-six (66) respondents were randomly selected from the study area for the research. The data used for this study were obtained through personal administration of structured questionnaire through field survey and interview of the workers in the selected floricultural gardens and were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics such as Pearson Product Moment Correlation. About 64% of the respondents were males with an average age of 38years, 51.5% were married. They had an average household size of approximately 4 members. The average pesticide use experience was 15years and the average floricultural garden experience was 12.36years. 47% had up to tertiary education and they were largely engaged in floriculture. The mean wage for the respondents was 511,584.39 naira annually. The method of pesticide waste disposal adopted by most of the respondents (78.8%) was the disposal of the empty pesticide containers/wastes in trash cans, others - punctured the containers to prevent reuse (47.0%), poured pesticide waste down drainage (40.9%), burnt pesticide can after use (22.7%), poured and buried pesticide in ground (13.6%). With a mean of 4.65, majority of the respondents believe that pesticide waste disposal is of great importance, with a mean of 3.86, they believed that pesticide waste disposal should be regulated by the government, with a mean 4.32, they believed that the pattern of pesticide waste disposal affects the environment and with a mean of 3.17, the respondents believe that their perception of pesticide waste disposal is shared by others. 93.9% of the respondents use Ultracide as their most preferred pesticide. Majority of the respondents faced serious challenges in disposing pesticide waste. Some of the problems faced were: poor access to safe pesticide waste disposal with a mean of 4.42, transportation with a mean of 3.62, cost, with a mean of 3.50, lack of information, with a mean of 4.79, language barrier, with a mean of 3.14, lack of training, with a mean of 4.56. Disposing empty pesticide containers/waste in trash, pouring pesticide waste down the drain/sewage and pouring and burying pesticide in the ground were the only pesticide waste disposal method found to be significant with the perception of the pesticide users. The following recommendations were made based on the findings from the research: agencies should be created by the government to aid in the regulation of pesticide waste disposal, nonchemical pesticide control method should be considered to minimize pesticide waste and extension agents should be mobilized to train and sensitize the floriculturists on proper ways of disposing pesticide wastes and the effects of improper pesticide waste disposal.
