Abstract
Background.The rapid growth of urban populations has led to a dramatic increase in urban waste generation with environmental and public health problems associated with water contamination, emission of toxic and noxious fumes, soil contamination and introduction of disease vector populations.Objectives.The aim of the present study was to assess solid waste disposal practices and challenges of solid waste management in Woldia town, northeastern Ethiopia.Methods.A descriptive research design was employed, using a survey method and naturalistic observational methods. A total of 236 households were surveyed, including waste collectors and cleaners, waste pickers, and 20 students and ten teachers from Woldia secondary and preparatory schools. A purposive sampling technique (made up of municipal officers, scavengers (waste pickers), waste collectors and cleaners and a simple random sampling technique (of teachers, students and kebeles of the study area) was employed, then proportional allocation was made for each randomly selected kebeles based on population size to determine the sample. Finally, survey questionnaire, interview, focus group discussion and observation were used as data collecting tools. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were also employed.Results.The current study revealed that educational status (AOR = 10.92, 95% CI = (3.12–38.27)), occupational status (AOR = 8.08, 95% CI = (2.08–31.31)), monthly income (AOR = 5.72, 95% CI = (1.55–21.13)), and age (AOR = 2.53, 95% CI = (1.04–6.19)) were found to be the major factors associated with solid waste management practices. Additionally, shortage of storage materials, lack of alternative waste disposal options, household attitudes, and lack of awareness were the major challenges for low performance of solid waste management practices of the local government and households. The focus group individuals and interviewed participants indicated that solid waste management practices were poor.Conclusions.The present study revealed that solid waste management practices in Woldia town remain inadequate. Therefore, efforts by the municipality and other stakeholders are needed to mitigate the problem of waste management and disposal practices.Participant Consent.ObtainedEthics Approval.The study was approved by the Institutional Research Ethics Review committee (IRERC) of Woldia UniversityCompeting Interests.The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Highlights
The unrestricted production of solid waste and its unsafe disposal is becoming a global problem.1 Urbanization, population growth and modernization have rapidly increased the rate of municipal solid waste (MSW) production and disposal in many cities around the globe.2,3 Municipal solid waste consists of everyday items such as product packaging, yard trimmings, furniture, clothing, bottles and cans, food, newspapers, appliances, electronics, and batteries
Most of the respondents reported a lack of alternative waste disposal sites, inadequate access in residential areas, inadequate access to micro- and small-scale enterprise (MSSE) services, household’s lack of positive attitudes towards SWM, household’s lack of awareness of solid waste management practices (92 (39.0%)), unwillingness to pay for waste collection services (125 (53.0%)), lack of space in backyard for waste disposal (131 (55.5%)), and distance of houses from the main road
Shortage of waste disposal materials, lack of alternative waste disposal options, inadequate access to residential areas, access to MSSE services, household attitudes on SWM, lack of awareness of households on SWM, unwillingness to pay for waste collection services, limited availability of space in the backyard for waste disposal and distance of houses from the main road were the major challenges related to poor solid waste management practices for households and municipal authorities
Summary
The unrestricted production of solid waste and its unsafe disposal is becoming a global problem. Urbanization, population growth and modernization have rapidly increased the rate of municipal solid waste (MSW) production and disposal in many cities around the globe. Municipal solid waste consists of everyday items such as product packaging, yard trimmings, furniture, clothing, bottles and cans, food, newspapers, appliances, electronics, and batteries. Urbanization, population growth and modernization have rapidly increased the rate of municipal solid waste (MSW) production and disposal in many cities around the globe.. The aim of the present study was to assess solid waste disposal practices and challenges of solid waste management in Woldia town, northeastern Ethiopia. Shortage of storage materials, lack of alternative waste disposal options, household attitudes, and lack of awareness were the major challenges for low performance of solid waste management practices of the local government and households. The focus group individuals and interviewed participants indicated that solid waste management practices were poor. The present study revealed that solid waste management practices in Woldia town remain inadequate. The study was approved by the Institutional Research Ethics Review committee (IRERC) of Woldia University Competing Interests. Household, solid waste management practices, Woldia town Ethiopia Received December 1, 2020.
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