Assessment of Domestic Solid Waste Management In Itezi Ward Mbeya City, Tanzania, September 2019

Background: Solid waste is one of the environmental hazards in urban places in Tanzania. This research aimed to assess the domestic management of solid waste at the household level in Itezi Ward, Mbeya City.  It was found to have controlled and well-managed domestic waste management and very few households still dispose of waste randomly.

METHODOLOGY: Through stratified random sampling technique, 70 households were obtained and participated in the study.

RESULTS: The majority of the participants were female; 49 [70%] and 21[30%] were males. Their education level ranged from Primary to University level (   %). Most of the residents, 65 [92.9%] of the household had refuse bin ranging from small size [less than 10kg capacity] to large bin [>15kg], and 5[7.1%] of households had no refuse bin and disposed waste into a refuse pit or just randomly. On the management of waste, 69 participants were aware of the risks of random waste disposal, municipal bylaws, and the penalty paid for breaking the laws, but 1 participant did not know about the risk and laws of haphazard waste disposal. 59 [84.3%] households were willing to pay the municipal for waste collection, while 11[15.7%] prefer the private company to collect the waste.

DISCUSSION: Despite the solid waste being collected in the refuse bins and their willingness to pay for refuse collection, the challenges are delaying waste collection by municipal cars and inadequate collecting cars, which is why few prefer private companies to manage waste. Also, education on handling, sorting, recycling, and disposing of domestic waste should be given to the community.