Determinants of community’s willingness and uptake of solid waste management for environmental safeguard in Namuwongo, Makindye division, Kampala district.

Abstract

Solid waste management is one of the major challenges faced by people globally and the study was carried out in Namuwongo community in Makindye division, where most of the solid waste is disposed in drainage systems, corridors and open fields. Solid waste is a threat to the environment and health of the people if not carefully handled well through proper disposal measures. The aim of the study was to determine the factors that influence community willingness and uptake of solid waste management to participate in environmental safeguard. The specific objectives of the study were: to determine community awareness on the needs and benefits of solid waste management, to map risky areas of solid waste disposal and to assess community choice of current practices of solid waste management. The study used interview method, where 150 respondents were randomly selected to give every community member a chance to take part in the study. Observation and GPS coordinates of the households < 5m to the dumping sites were recorded inclusive of the legal and illegal dump sites in Namuwongo. The study findings showed that 82% of the respondents had adequate awareness and knowledge about the needs and benefits of proper waste management. The statistical analysis f-test (P< 0.05) showed that solid waste management awareness was not significantly affected by the respondent’s defined zones of location. Solid waste management activities were highly influenced by a determinant factor income, where 81% of the households were willing to pay for the solid waste collection services by KCCA and private waste collection companies. The results of the study also revealed that 64.5% of the households segregate their waste and 35.5% households, who did not segregate was as a result of limited awareness about the need for solid waste segregation at household level. Basing on observations and interviews with community chair persons, it was found out that, Namuwongo didn’t have well-built drainage channels and KCCA did not provide their services to its expected level. The study highlights the importance of solid waste management education and awareness such that the efforts to mitigate setbacks through implementations such as strict law enforcements to ensure that solid waste management challenges are adhered to within the community.