The management of municipal solid waste is one of the challenges facing the developing countries because
governments, institutions, and private sectors have given solid waste management low priority and ignoring
the implication it has on the general public. This is characterized by inefficient collection methods,
insufficient coverage of the collection system and improper disposal. This paper presents the current solid
waste management method adopted in Ado-Odo Ota local government and its associated challenges. Four
locations (Iganmode area, Joju area, Ota market and toll gate area) were selected. These sites are points
where the waste bins are located. A field work that involves the characterization and types of the waste
generated, and frequency of collection from each site was carried out. A representative sample of 280 kg
was used for the waste characterization and the result shows that about 64% of the wastes are recyclable
with lots of organic waste that comprises of food and agricultural waste which can be used as compost. The
only dump site in Ota was visited in order to obtain useful information concerning the present state of solid
waste management. The study revealed that there is presently no investment made to the existing
development plan to introduce a modern waste management system. The study suggests new approach
that could be used by institutions and government agencies for municipal solid waste management to
achieve sustainable and effective sanitation
