Design of a Mobile App for Reporting Refuse Dumping Sites in Enugu Urban Area

Indiscriminate refuse dumping remains one of the most visible environmental challenges in Nigerian cities, contributing to blocked drainage channels, disease outbreaks, and urban aesthetic degradation. In Enugu Urban Area, despite the presence of the Enugu State Waste Management Authority (ESWAMA), illegal dumpsites continue to proliferate in residential and commercial zones due in part to the absence of a citizen-driven, real-time reporting mechanism that can alert waste management authorities to dumping incidents promptly. This study designed a mobile application enabling residents of Enugu Urban Area to report refuse dumping sites, facilitating faster response by ESWAMA field officers and generating location-based data to support waste management planning. The application was developed using Flutter and Dart for the Android platform, with a Firebase backend for real-time data storage and retrieval. Key features included photographic evidence upload, GPS-based site location tagging, report submission with optional anonymity, and a status feedback module informing reporters of action taken on their submissions. An administrative web dashboard provided ESWAMA staff with a mapped overview of reported sites, prioritised by recurrence frequency and proximity to sensitive areas such as schools and health facilities. Pilot testing with volunteer residents in selected Enugu Urban wards confirmed reliable report submission, accurate geolocation, and successful dashboard data population. The study concluded that a citizen-facing refuse reporting application would strengthen ESWAMA's capacity for responsive waste management and contribute to improved urban sanitation outcomes in Enugu.

Keywords: refuse reporting, mobile application, ESWAMA, Enugu Urban, environmental management