Status, characterization, and quantification of municipal solid waste as a measure towards effective solid waste management: The case of Dilla Town, Southern Ethiopia

This study aims to assess the status of solid waste management (SWM) practice and to characterize and quantify the municipal solid waste as a measure toward effective management in Dilla town Southern Ethiopia. Formal surveys of household residents and SWM operators using a structured questionnaire were conducted to gather data on the current waste management practices of the inhabitants. Repeated field investigations, on-site waste segregation, characterizations, and quantification were conducted. The average per-capita waste generation rate of residential households was found to be 0.475 kg/capita.day. The majority of the waste was organic (68.40% by weight). The recyclable waste accounts 1.90% plastics and 1.50% paper by weight. Whereas, other wastes account 0.30% metals, 0.30% glass, 0.50% leather and rubber, 19.60% inert, 0.96% textiles, and 6.90% miscellaneous by weight. The awareness of inhabitants on solid waste management, poor household waste segregation practice, and disposing of an unsanitary landfill are revealing the main solid waste management problems faced. Other SWM barriers include ineffective solid waste fee system, lack of trained manpower, inappropriate collection routes; unavailability of collection vehicles, illegal solid waste disposal, and inappropriate setting of community containers. From the results of this study, it can be concluded that organic waste constituted a lion share of the solid wastes generated in the town. Hence, the municipality can recover this waste by introducing integrated urban agriculture that might convert this waste to organic fertilizer through composting. To boost SWM, creating public awareness, providing equipment, provision of incentives and other financial policies, and other supplies currently lacking and inappropriate must be provided. The municipal authorities of the town may use this work as a benchmark and might push environmental protection authorities to reexamine the implementation of their policies and strategies with relation to the human and environmental health of the town. Implications: Nowadays, urban population is increasing in developing countries; led to generate an enormous amount of municipal waste in the areas which make more complicate its management pose environmental pollution and threat public health. Thus, to curve these problems this study finding will be important for various policymakers and town municipality. This study may also serve as a benchmark for the municipal authorities of Dilla town for whom the problem is still unseen and negligible, and can push environmental protection authorities to re-examine the implementation of their policies and strategies with regard to the wider issues of human and environmental health conditions of town inhabitants.