| dc.description.abstract | Municipal solid waste management (SWM) problems present a serious challenge to local government authorities (LGAs) in developing countries, Kenya included. The effective way to reduce this tremendous issue is to integrate waste recycling systems into existing and future SWM. Understanding factors influencing recycling performance is the key to achieving sustainable waste management. The purpose of this study is to study the factors influencing effective management of solid waste in Garissa Municipality. Garissa Municipality has grown six fold from 1990 from a population of 50, 000 to 300,000 with mass entrance of refugees from Somali and displaced local community by the 1992 drought, making the impact of solid waste inevitable.
This study sought to find out whether the size of the manpower influences solid waste management and disposal, establishing extend to which the size of manpower influences solid waste management and disposal in Garissa Municipality, finding out the frequency of solid waste collection, establishing the main solid waste disposal facilities available to residents of Garissa Municipality, determining extent of funding for solid waste management and assessing the impact of the residents' attitude on solid waste disposal in Garissa Municipality in relation to gender and age.
The study covered five residential and business areas of the Municipality. It adopted a descriptive research design. The data was collected through questionnaires and observations. The out come of the study indicated there was a shortfall of the technology applied in the management of solid waste in Garissa Municipality. The researcher recommends that solid waste from organic sources should be composted to generate manure and that the solid waste from metallic, glass and plastics be converted into items for secondary use. These would generate income for the Municipality.
The researcher also recommends improvement of regulations controlling the handling of solid waste. There should be guidelines on how the communities would dispose solid waste from their premises. Further the study revealed that there was adequate manpower and relatively adequate facilities to collect and transport solid waste to well defined and gazetted dumpsites. The residents were found to have positive attitude towards waste disposal. The funding of solid waste management programmes was found to be insufficient and therefore sustainable sources of funding should be sought. | en |
