Intra-urban patterns of domestic solid waste recycling in sub-Saharan Africa: towards an exploratory search for insights in Gaborone, Botswana

Abstract

Botswana is among those developing countries that are rapidly transitioning from predominantly rural to urban societies. Gaborone, its capital city, is seriously confronted by formidable challenges of sustainable metropolitan management, including the proper handling of solid domestic waste. Although the international convention of the 3-Rs, namely, Recycle, Reduce, Reuse is generally accepted; its implementation remains elusive. It is therefore of utmost importance to unravel significant determinants of the gap between nominal acceptance and praxis in order to influence policy. This preliminary case study, consequently, sought to identify the underlying factors that differentiate waste recycling practices from high, medium, and low socio-economic areas Gaborone. Key informants, including municipal officials and company representatives, in charge of city solid waste management, were interviewed. A probit model was used to analyze those factors that could influence recycling and waste separation practices. Results showed that tenure, gender, income, affluence, location of house increase the likelihood of recycling while age, education level, household size and source of waste management information did not influence the likelihood of recycling. Stakeholders should place greater emphasis on positive environmental awareness, and appropriate reward systems for recycling domestic solid waste and recycling should be tailored according to the locational needs.