Quest Journals

Journal of Research in Environmental and Earth Sciences

Volume 7 ~ Issue 2 (2021) pp: 17-23
ISSN(Online) :2348-2532
www.questjournals.org
Research Paper

Survey on the Impact of the waste of plastic-made materials, its

disposal and their effects on human health and environment: A
case study in Mogadishu City, The capital of Somalia, Horn of
Africa
Mr. Abdirashid Adam Isak
(M.Sc. In Chemistry, Author, and Lecturer, at Somali National University, Faculty of Education and Social
Science)

Plastic bag wastes pose serious environmental pollutions and health problems in humans and animals. The
situation is worsened in economically disadvantaged countries like Somalia. The objective of this survey was to
assess usage of plastic bags and their environmental impacts in Mogadishu City of Somalia. A semi-structured
questionnaire was used to collect data from 271 randomly selected respondents. The results indicated that the
larger proportion (176, 76.52%) of the respondents used plastic bags more frequently than any other plastic
products regardless of their age, occupation, and economic and educational status. Low price (159, 69.13%)
and easy availability (152, 66.08%) were the main reasons for the widespread utilization of these products.
Among the practices used for disposal of plastic bag wastes, open dumping to surrounding areas (137, 59.56%)
was a practice widely used by almost all the residents of the city. Some of the major problems were animal
death (167, 72.60%), blockage of sewage lines (162, 70.43%), deterioration of natural beauty of an environment
(144, 62.60%) and human health problems (119, 51.73%). The findings of the present study also indicated that
the trend of utilization of plastic bags is increasing from time to time in spite of a good deal of awareness of the
residents about the adverse effects of these products. In order to reduce the problems associated with plastic
bag wastes, it is recommended to educate the public (1) not to use plastic bags, and (2) to use eco-friendly
alternative materials (bags) made from clothes, natural fibers and paper. City level legislation is also highly
recommended against indiscriminate use and disposal of plastic bag wastes as well as to end free distribution of
plastic bags by retailers.
Key term Definitions:
 Plastics : are a group of materials, either synthetic or naturally occurring, that may be shaped when soft and
then hardened to retain the given shape
 Wastes: unwanted or unusable material, substances, or by-products
 Health: is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease
or infirmity.
 Environment: is condition of surroundings in which a person, animal, plant lives or operates.

Received 28 Jan, 2021; Revised: 10 Feb, 2021; Accepted 12 Feb, 2021 © The author(s) 2021.
Published with open access at www.questjournals.org

I. INTRODUCTION:
Plastics are used widely everywhere in our life and without plastic, modern civilization would indeed
look very diverse. This study focuses on the influence of plastic on human health and environment. Plastics are
essential materials in modern civilization, and many products manufactured from plastics and in numerous
cases, they promote risks to human health and the environment. Plastics are contained many chemical and
hazardous substances such as Bisphenol A (BPA), Thalates, antiminitroxide, brominates flame retardants, and
poly- fluorinated chemicals etc. which are a serious risk factor for human health and environment. Plastics are
being used by Bangladeshi people without knowing the toxic effects of plastic on human health and
environment. Different human health problems like irritation in the eye, vision failure, breathing difficulties,
respiratory problems, liver dysfunction, cancers, skin diseases, lungs problems, headache, dizziness, birth effect,
reproductive, cardiovascular, genotoxic, and gastrointestinal causes for using toxic plastics.

*Corresponding Author: Mr. Abdirashid Adam Isak 17 | Page

 Survey on the Impact of the waste of plastic-made materials, its disposal and their ..
Plastics occurs serious environment pollution such as soil pollution, water pollution, and air pollution.
Application of proper rules and regulations for the production and use of plastics can reduce toxic effects of
plastics on human health and environment (Okunola A Alabi, April 12, 2019).
Plastic has changed our everyday life. We are involved with plastic made products in various ways.
Plastic plays an important part in our life. Plastics are used widely everywhere in our life. Plastic makes our life
easier and better. They are composed of a network of molecular monomers bound together to form
macromolecules of infinite use in human society. Day by day peoples are becoming more and more dependent
on the use of plastics because of the characteristics of plastic such as inert, durability, flexibility and versatility
and so on.
The durability of plastics and their potential for diverse applications, including widespread use of
disposable items, were anticipated, but the problems associated with waste management and plastic debris was
not (Yarsley & Couzens 1945).
Plastic has some special properties such as; high heat combustion, the water content of the plastics is
far lower than the water content in the biomass, plastics do not absorb much moisture and increasing availability
in the local community. Plastics have many benefits and without plastic, modern society would indeed look very
different. Most important advantages of plastic are medical uses and applications in public health. Plastics are
cost effective, require little energy to produce, and are lightweight and biocompatible. Plastic is soft,
transparent, flexible, or biodegradable and many different types of plastics function as innovative materials for
use in engineered tissues, absorbable sutures, prosthetics, and other medical applications (Andrady & Neal
2009).
Plastic debris has become progressively more abundant in the oceans over the past few decades and is
still increasing (Ryan & Moloney, 1993; Ryan et al., 2009).
These synthetic and non-biodegradable materials provide attractive alternative substrata for a number
of opportunistic colonizers (Barnes, 2002a, b; Gregory, 2009), as they are highly buoyant and can withstand
prolonged exposure to UV radiation and wave action (Barnes, 2004). Such durability allows pelagic plastics to
remain at sea for long periods and thus to travel distances of more than 3000 km from source (Ryan & Moloney,
1993).
In the last decade, pieces of plastic colonized by rafting biota have been reported as far south as 68◦S
(Barnes & Fraser, 2003) and as far north as 79◦N (Barnes & Milner, 2005), suggesting that drift plastics are
expanding the ranges of some rafting organisms Barnes (Thomas Otto Whitehead and Aiden Biccard, 24
February 2011.)

II. PROBLEM STATEMENT

Plastics have become invaluable components of modern building; plastic production has many negative
impact on health and environmental effects.
Plastics and their products are littering our cities, oceans, and waterways, and contributing to health
problems in humans and animals. Also Plastic occur serious environment pollution such as soil pollution, water
pollution, and air pollution, therefore has important in public health For instance, plastic waste fumes release
halogenated additives and polyvinyl chloride, while furans, dioxins, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are
released from incineration of plastics into the environment; therefore this study investigates the impact of
plastic-made materials wastes on human health and environment in Mogadishu, Somalia.

III. OBJECTIVE OF THE SURVEY/STUDY:

The goal of this study is to investigate the awareness of the respondents on the influence of plastic-made
materials on human health and environment in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Also the researchers aim behind the study will be:
 To investigate the history and the usage of plastic-made materials in Mogadishu – Somalia.
 To explain the Types and the impacts of plastic-made materials on animal health in Mogadishu – Somalia.
 To determine and asses the effects of plastic-made materials on environment in Mogadishu – Somalia.

IV. MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study was conducted in Mogadishu – Somalia, the city that located at coastal Benadir region on the
Indian Ocean, (Figure 1). The latitude and longitude of Mogadishu are 02°02′N and 45°20′E, respectively. The
average altitude of the city is 9 m above sea level with a temperature range of 24 to 31°C (Mossie, 2002).
According to the governments, the city has a total human population of 2,282,000. The city has just one religion
which is the Islam practiced in it. The main economic activities are commerce (trading and catering service),
Import and Export and manufacturing enterprises.

*Corresponding Author: Mr. Abdirashid Adam Isak 18 | Page

 Survey on the Impact of the waste of plastic-made materials, its disposal and their ..

Figure 1 Map showing relative positions of the study area (Mogadishu – Somalia)

STUDY DESIGN:
This study will employ through explanatory research design. The purpose affecting the variables
involves in this study and helped to achieve all the objectives of research. However, this study is used
quantitative approach; Quantitative is any data collection technique (such as a questionnaire) or data analysis
procedure (such as graphs or statistics) that generates or uses numerical data. In addition the method used
acquire the data in this study is survey method.
Survey method is a designed to collect primary or secondary data from a sample, with a view to
generalizing the results to a population. (Collis & Hussey, 2003).

SAMPLING PROCEDURE
The sampling procedure will use in this study is a probability sampling procedure particularly
systematic random sampling, systematic random sampling would be used to select every nth or at regular
intervals from the sample frame (Sounders, Lewis, 2009).
The main purpose of this technique is to substitute simple random sampling as it provides easy and
cheaper to implement them simple random sampling (Sounders, Lewis, 2009). Researchers were select
systematic random sampling, because it has the following advantages: First It can be used to analyze. Second
every member of the population has equal chance for inclusion (Kombo and Tromp, 2006).
The study subjects were selected using random sampling technique (Marshall, 1996). The selection was
made from neighboring households which were in the distance of 100 to 200 m far from each other. Among the
visited households, at least one member of the family was picked randomly for the study regardless of his/her
age, educational status, sex and occupation as long as he/she was willing. The number of male respondents was
higher than female respondents due to the fact that males showed more readiness to be interviewed and fill the
questionnaires provided. To collect the data, semi-structured questionnaires were prepared in English. Prior to
the administration of the questionnaires, conversations were held with the selected respondents to explain the
objective of the study. Those respondents who were willing but not able to attend the questionnaires by
themselves were helped by data collectors. Based on the collected data, the respondents were grouped into
different categories (Table 1). Analysis of the collected data was carried out using SPSS software version 25.

*Corresponding Author: Mr. Abdirashid Adam Isak 19 | Page

 Survey on the Impact of the waste of plastic-made materials, its disposal and their ..
Table 1. Demographic profiles of respondents of survey (Mogadishu City).
Variable Categories No. %
Sex Male 171 62.9

Female 100 37.1

Age </=20 years 180 66.2

20-29 years 91 33.5

Educational Status Illiterate 12 0.87

Primary education 38 11.74

High school education 97 33.48

Higher education 124 54.91

Occupation Students 77 33.48

Government employees 127 50.43

Private 42 10.78

Others* 25 5.22

* Daily laborers and house wives.

V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

(1) Plastic bags and factors responsible for increasing trend of their usage

Table 2. The Respondents awareness of the influences of plastic wastes

Do you have an awareness of the influences of plastic wastes on
human health and environment? Frequency Percent
No 56 20.6
Yes 199 73.2
No Idea 16 5.9
Total 271 99.6
Total 272 100.0

The above table indicates that 199 (73.2%) of the respondents were aware of the hazard of plastic wastes on
human health and environment, While 56 (20.6%) were said No. and 16 (5.9%) have no idea about the
influence.

(2) Media exposure of the community and trends in the use of plastic bags
Table 3. From where you know the Hazards of Plastic wastes?
If your answer to question number 1 is “Yes”, how often or from
where you get the alert? Frequency Percent
TV/radio 36 13.2
School 136 50.0
From professionals 20 7.4
Published materials 7 2.6
Total 199 73.2
Total 272 100.0

The above table shows that 136 (50%) of the respondents get the alert from the School and teachers.
While the rest get the alert differently between Tv/Radio 36 (13.2%), from professionals 20 (7.4%) and
published materials 7(2.6%).

*Corresponding Author: Mr. Abdirashid Adam Isak 20 | Page

 Survey on the Impact of the waste of plastic-made materials, its disposal and their ..
Table 4. Excessive use of plastic package
Which plastic products do you use excessively? Frequency Percent
Plastic bags 125 46.0

Plastic liquid containers (bottles) 4 1.5

Plastic buckets, bins and barrels 4 1.5

Plastic shoes 138 50.7

Total 271 99.6

Total 272 100.0

The above table mentions that 138 (50.7%) of the respondents use plastic shoes excessively, while the
rest 125 ( 46%) uses plastic bags, and also there is some respondents choose bottles, plastic buckets, bins and
barrels 4 (1.5%) each.
(3) Practices of disposal of plastic bag wastes and their environmental impacts

Table 5. Cause of plastic product usage

Why do you prefer to use the plastic product(s)? Frequency Percent
They are cheap 93 34.2
They are light in weight 75 27.6
They are easily available 64 23.5
Lack of alternative materials 39 14.3
Total 271 99.6
1 .4
Total 272 100.0

The above table explains the reason why the respondents use the plastic products as 93 (34.2%) says
the plastic products are cheap, where 75 (27.6%) says being light in weight is the reason, While the Availability
64 (23.5%) and lack of alternative materials 39 (14.3%) also are reasons for Plastic products usage.

Table 6. The problems caused by the plastic product wastes

If your answer to question 5 is ‘Yes’, what are the problems? Frequency Percent
Animal death 51 18.8
Human health problem 100 36.8
Blockage of sewage (drain) systems 40 14.7
Deterioration of natural beauty of environment 58 21.3
Total 249 91.5
Total 272 100.0

The above table shows that the majority of the respondents 100 (36.8%) believes that the wastes of
plastic products cause problems to the human health, where 58 (21.3%) says it causes Deterioration of natural
beauty of the environment, While 51 (18.8%) and 40 (14.7%) shows that the wastes causes Animal Death and
Blockage of sewage (drain) respectively.

Table 7. Plastic Bag wastes seriously polluted parts in the city

Which parts of the city are seriously polluted by plastic bag wastes? Frequency Percent
Parks 36 13.2
Waste dumping sites 28 10.3
Market places 86 31.6
Crowded residential areas 59 21.7
Roadsides 41 15.1
any open places in the City 21 7.7

*Corresponding Author: Mr. Abdirashid Adam Isak 21 | Page

 Survey on the Impact of the waste of plastic-made materials, its disposal and their ..
Total 271 99.6
Total 272 100.0

The above table shows that 86 (31.6%) of the respondents clarified that the market places of the city
are the most polluted part, while 59 (21.7%) said the crowded residential area most polluted than the market
places. Where the rest of the respondents 41 (15.1%), 36 (13.2%) and 28 (10.3%) said Roadsides, Parks and the
Waste dumping sites respectively, while the least percentage of the respondents 21 (7.7%) said that any open
places in the city are polluted by plastic bag wastes.

Table 8. Utilization of plastic bags

Is the trend of utilization of plastic bags increasing or decreasing? Frequency Percent
Increasing 213 78.3
Decreasing 58 21.3
Total 271 99.6
Total 272 100.0

The table above indicates that the majority of the respondents 213 (78.3%) believes that the utilization
of the plastic bags is increasing. While 58 (21.3%) said that there is no such utilizing seen in the area.

Table 9. the possible reason of the increasing utilization of plastic bags

If your answer is to question 9 is “Increasing”, what are the possible reasons? Frequency Percent
Cheapness (low cost) 96 35.3
Durability 21 7.7
Availability wherever and whenever required 67 24.6
Lack of awareness of the community 29 10.7
Total 213 78.3
Total 272 100.0

The above table Shows that the majority of the respondents 96 (35.3%) said the cause of increasing
utilization of plastic bags is its cheapness (Low Cost), While 67 (24.6%) of the respondents believes the
availability is the reason behind the increasing. Where 29 (10.7%) and 21 (7.7%) said Lack of awareness and the
Durability respectively are the causes of that increase of the utilization.

Table 10. The alternatives of the plastic-made materials

If you say plastic bags should not be used, what alternatives can be used? Frequency Percent
Paper bags 74 27.2
Fiber bags 67 24.6
Cloth bags 130 47.8
Total 271 99.6
Total 272 100.0
The above table shows 130 (47.8%) of the respondents choice of the alternative were the cloth bags, where 74
(27.2%) and 67 (24.6%) choose paper bags and fiber bags respectively.

VI. CONCLUSIONS
The result of the present study indicated that most of the respondents, regardless of their demographic
background, are (1) in favor of banning of production, distribution and use of these plastic products, and (2)
aware of the adverse effects of plastic bag wastes on environment, animal and human health. However, plastic
bags are still widely used by the community more than any other plastic products mainly due to their cheapness.
The survey results and field observations indicated that the city was seriously polluted by plastic wastes
particularly plastic bags wastes. By and large, it can be recommended that various campaigns need to be
organized in order to mobilize the public and other stakeholders (Government agencies, business associations,
retailers, research institutions, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), youth associations, women associations,
religious institutions, donors and the media) against indiscriminate use and disposal of plastic bags in order to
minimize the excessive accumulation of plastic bag wastes in the environment. Moreover, passing legislations
alone is not sufficient condition to curb the problem of plastic bag wastes. Therefore, the central government in

*Corresponding Author: Mr. Abdirashid Adam Isak 22 | Page

 Survey on the Impact of the waste of plastic-made materials, its disposal and their ..
collaboration with other concerned authorities of the city should encourage people to use environment-friendly
alternative materials, such as cloth bags, paper bags and natural fiber bags.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I will bear my mind forever to all my Brother(s) Dr. Mohamed, Mr. Abdullahi, Mohamoud, and Ahmed. My
two sisters Hawa and Aisha with their children; they have been the source of constant motivation and help
throughout my life.
My Thanks and gratitude also goes to my son Mohamed and my wife Sadia Hassan Mohamed for constant love
and support that have always given me the confidence and the drive to pursue and realize my dreams.

REFRENCES
[1]. Collis, J., Hussey, R. & Hussey, J. 2003 Business research: a practical guide to undergraduate and postgraduate students, 2nd edit.,
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
[2]. Joppe, M. (2000). The Research Process. Retrieved February 25, 1998, from http://www.ryerson.ca/~mjoppe/rp.htm
[3]. Kombo, K. D. and Tromp, A. L. D. (2006). Thesis Writing: An Introduction. Nairobi:
Pauline’s Publication.
[4]. Legesse Adane and Diriba Muleta, (2011), Survey on the usage of plastic bags, their disposal and adverse impacts on environment:
A case study in Jimma City, Southwestern Ethiopia, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health Sciences Vol. 3(8) pp. 234 -
248, Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/JTEHS
[5]. Marshall MN. (1996), The key informant technique. Farm Pract; 13: 92-97.
[6]. Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2009). Research methods for business. Pearson Education. London.
[7]. Wainer, H., & Braun, H. I. (1988). Test validity. Hilldale, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates.
[8]. Winter, G. (2000). A comparative discussion of the notion of validity in qualitative and quantitative research. The Qualitative
Report, 4(3&4). Retrieved February 25, 1998, from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR4-3/winter.html
[9]. Tadesse T, Ruijs A, Hagos F (2008). Household waste disposal in Mekelle city, Northern Ethiopia. Waste Manage., 28(10): 2003 -
2012.
[10]. Tekola B, Tefalet D, Mhreteab E, Mussie R, Tefera T, Tafere Y (2006). Ethiopian urban studies, Kolfe Area, Addis Ababa, pp. 1 1-
23.
[11]. Total environment centre (TEC)(2007). Supermarket Shame: City of Sydney plastic bag survey 2007, Liverpool Street, Sydney.
[12]. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (2005a). Plastic bag ban in Kenya proposed as part of a new waste strategy.
UNEP press release.
[13]. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (2005b). Report on employing economic instruments in solid waste management
in Kenya, UNEP, New York, USA,
[14]. Verghese K, Jollands M, Allan M (2006). The Litterability of plastic bags: Key design criteria. A report presented on 5th Australian
Conference on Life Cycle Assessment: Achieving business benefits from managing life cycle impacts, Melbourne, pp. 1 -10.

*Corresponding Author: Mr. Abdirashid Adam Isak 23 | Page