Determinants of Effective Household Solid Waste Management Practices: the Case of Ambo Town – West Showa Zone

Most of the developed countries recognized that solid waste management is very crucial for survival (economically) in addition to secure the safety of environment and human health. However, the developing countries like Ethiopia, let alone use its economical benefits, because of various reasons they are dumping of wastes in unauthorized sites, which easily expose to harsh hazards, like environmental pollution and health problem. Hence, the overall objective of the study is to describe and analyze the household solid waste management current situation and examine the influence of demographics, socio-cultural and institutional factors on the effectiveness of solid waste management at household level in the town. The data were collected from 200 households, which were selected through multi-stage sampling from three ‘kebelles’, from responsible staff and private participants using interviews and focus group discussion respectively. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics tools such as two-sample t test, Pearson chi-square and correlation were used to know the relationship between variables. Logistic regression model was used to identify factors that determine the effectiveness of solid waste management at household level in the study area. The descriptive findings show that plastic, paper and ash constitute the major waste bulk generated by the households. In addition, there is a positive link between household’s income and waste generation. Though all households have temporary storage in their home, they did not store wastes separately based on its nature. Disposed off solid wastes in unauthorized sites by the households is highly practiced in Ambo. The empirical analyses, using the logistic regression model, shows that, household head sex, household head educational level, household’s location (distance of residents from the main road or center), household’s willingness to pay, household’s awareness on solid waste management and household’s access to the private waste collectors’ service are the major determinants of effective household solid waste management in the study area. Moreover, the qualitative analyses, using the interview and focus group discussion data, show that manpower, budget, and facilities such as container, adequate vehicles, waste gown, and gloves are the other major determining factors of effective solid waste management at household level in Ambo. Key words: Household Solid Waste Management, Private Waste Collectors, Logit, Ambo, West – Showa Zone