Socio-economic evaluation of municipal solid waste management :

Abstract

Solid waste management is increasingly becoming a. big problem in many cities in sub -Sahara Africa of which Uganda is exception. This is largely attributed to the poor institutional arrangement, lack of capacity and use of poor technology by waste management Authorities in addition to the poor waste storage and disposal methods by the communities which subject them to health and environmental problem. The study was carried out in Ibanda town council Ibanda district. The aim was to establish the fundamental causes of poor solid waste management and seek the local people's opinions on how the problem would be handled in Ibanda Town Council. This could be used to generate baseline information on the characterization of solid waste stream and status of solid waste management that can be used to design short and long term management plans for municipal solid waste management in Uganda. The objectives were to find out what methods are used to collect, store and dispose different solid waste categories generated in the town council to establish reasons for prevalence of the diverse organic and inorganic solid wastes thrown about in Ibanda Town Council and to determine stakeholders' willingness to pay to achieve better and cost effective solid waste management practices in Town Council. Self-administered questionnaires, personal interviews and focused group discussions were used to obtain information on the different solid waste' management practices. The gathered information was coded and edited in SPSS and analyzed using bar graphs and pie charts. Findings. indicated that residents disposed of waste at disposal pits, open “disposal” sites. They also used substandard storage containers in sacks and cut jerry cans and ITC used open surface collection points. For these residents stand greater chances of facing health and environmental risks.