Analysing Household Willingness and Ability to Pay for Solid Waste: A Case Study of Karachi

Abstract

Karachi being the industrial and commercial hub, comprising a population belonging to multiple cultures, is facing many types of socio-economic issues with solid waste at top of the list. District Municipalities lack the financial resources and capacity to provide the needed infrastructure to ensure the timely collection and disposal of solid waste. The public’s involvement and financial support therefore can assist the provincial and local governments in resolving solid waste management concerns. The aim of this study is to investigate the socioeconomic status of households to assess their willingness to pay for solid waste management. A comprehensive household survey from Karachi has been carried out to achieve the aforementioned objective. The results revealed that households’ willingness to pay ranged from Rs. 50 to Rs. 5,300 per month. The average number of households paying for a particular service (our selection variable) was around 70 percent, and the average per-capita income of the surveyed households was around Rs. 19,000. Interestingly, the results predict that households’ Ability to pay was substantially greater than their Willingness to Pay, implying the need for motivating measures to persuade families to pay more to manage solid waste.