Participation Of Households In Solid Waste Management In Kayole Soweto Informal Settlements, Nairobi City County, Kenya

Abstract

Solid Waste Management is a growing problem in cities of developing countries such as Nairobi, Kenya. While city authorities and other agencies have made efforts to address the problem, it still persists. The objective of the study is to establish the role of households heads participation in solid waste management. The study was carried out in Kayole Soweto which has 9 zones; of these 3 zones were purposively sampled where waste problem disposal was highest. Each zone had residential blocks, and we targeted 10 blocks ensuring that they were well spread out. Each dwelling block has 5-10 dwelling units, we randomly selected three of the units where house heads were present giving a total of 30 households per zone and 90 for the three zones. This study found that all households participated in solid waste management, In terms of profiles there were more males(62.2%) than women(37.8%).on age more younger people participated more in waste management, Majority (47.8%) being between the age of 30-39 years. Majority (73.3%) were aware of solid waste although they defined it differently. They were also aware of its disposal and recycling although they did not practice SWM owing to lack of the necessary techniques of how to do it. The study recommends that there is need to create awareness about integrated solid waste management and especially on how households can reduce, re-use and re-cycle the generated solid waste at the household level by the County government.