Physico-chemical Investigation On Dumpsite Leachate
[A CASE STUDY OF ILORIN METROPOLIS]

Failure of waste management could be traced to lack of public participation, lack of environmental consciousness among people, and also indifferent attitude. Malaysia like other countries faces the same problems (Fauziah et al., 2003; Chopy et al., 2002).
However, rising incomes and general improvements in developmental status are often accompanied by an increase in consumption - a term generally associated with high expenditure on goods and services which is a sign of waste generation. Also, the waste generation increase is related to the food industry due to high demand for either fresh or processed foods. As a result of improvement in development and industrial status, the per capita waste generation increased, for example percentage of paper in the waste composition, but organic waste such as putrescible decreased (Grover, 2000).
In the year 1997, Malaysian municipal solid waste generation amounted to about 5.6 million tonnes or 15000 tonnes/day. This amount can be divided into domestic waste which was around 80% (about 12100 tonnes/day) and the rest was commercial waste which was about 3100 tonnes/day.  The production of domestic and commercial waste was estimated at about 8.0 million tonnes/ year in the year 2000 (Agamuthu, 2001). In Kuala Lumpur alone, the people generated a huge quantity of municipal solid waste which is roughly 3070 tonnes/day (Agamuthu, 2001). Currently, around 26,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste is produced in Malaysia every day (Agamuthu, 2008).
The percentage of paper product is higher in high socio-economic area compared to the low income group. The differences are mainly due the degree of industrialization and urbanization. In contrast, the percentage of food waste is higher in the low socio-economic area than the more affluent group (Table 2.1) (Agamuthu, 2001).