Assessing the Factors Influencing Effective Municipal Solid Waste Management System in Barishal Metropolitan Areas

Abstract

Unorganized municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal system leads to stress on ecosystems and disturbs various nature cycles and human health. Solid waste management all over world is looked as a major challenge to civil bodies, especially in developing countries like Bangladesh. The proper management system of municipal solid waste depends on various factors like social, cultural, financial, political, environmental, physical and institutional and so on. The purpose of this study is to explore the leading factors that affect the solid waste management in Barishal city. For achieving this purpose, this research first has identified the socio-economic, cultural, physical and technical, institutional and environmental factors and then analyzed the factors which affect the solid waste management system in the study area. To achieve the purpose of the study, quantitative method has been used in this research. As a sample of this study, 150 household heads from total household members of the city have been selected randomly by using lottery method. A structured questionnaire has been constructed for collecting quantitative data. The quantitative data have been analyzed in this study by using SPSS Program, and Microsoft Excel. The findings of the study show that all city people know solid waste and solid waste management stakeholders present in the city and waste pickers collect all types of waste in the city and socio-economic, cultural, physical and technical, institutional factors affect the effective solid waste management in the study area where environmental factors have no influence on effective solid waste management in the study area. The study people have a bad impression of the current existing management system of the solid waste and they express their expectations where they mention that if municipal authorities improve the condition of the infrastructure, roads and vehicles; allow more budgets to manage waste; take proper strategies and planning to manage waste smartly like imposing fines, set up rules, then the municipal authorities will be able to manage solid waste properly. Finally, this research has proposed some recommendations that might be helpful for the policy-makers in the study area for making policies and further research regarding solid waste management.