This study assessed the water quality of the hand-dug well groundwater of Independence Layout, a highly populated district of Enugu Metropolis in Enugu State of Nigeria by sampling 14 hand-dug wells during the rainy and dry seasons. Samples were collected in such a manner as to ensure that each of the seven zones that make up the district had two wells sampled. The water quality was assessed based on the biological and physico-chemical properties of the groundwater. Atomic absorption spectrometry was employed in the laboratory analysis of the heavy metals.

The polluting of marine ecosystems with plastics is both a global and a local problem with potentially severe consequences for wildlife, economic activity, and human health. It is a problem that originates in countries’ inability to adequately manage the growing flow of waste. We use an impact pathway framework to trace the flow of plastics through the socio-ecological system and identify the role of specific policy instruments in achieving behavioral changes to reduce marine plastic waste. We produce a toolbox for finding a policy that is suitable for different countries.