Household Solid Waste Management Practices among Residents of Kiganjo Informal Settlement in Kiambu County, Kenya
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Date
2022
Authors
Ongeri, Samwel
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
The share of household consumption keeps rising as the world becomes more urbanized. This has resulted in an exponential increase in waste production, an irreversible effect. Management of household solid waste is a significant community health issue in many residential areas surrounding important industrial towns in Kenya. The objectives of this research were to ascertain the knowledge, identify the categories of household solid waste and determine the factors affecting management of solid waste practices among residents of Kiganjo informal settlement. A cross-sectional analytical survey involving mixed methods of data collection was adopted. To choose the households, simple random and systematic sampling were employed. The choice of the key informants and focus group participants was deliberate and was based on their familiarity with household solid waste management in the study area, as well as their education, gender, occupation, and period of residence in the study area. Data collecting took place from September to December 2019 using a triangulation of qualitative and quantitative designs. For the collection of quantitative data, questionnaires and interviews were employed, whereas focus groups, interviews, and observation were used to collect qualitative data. The research data was cleaned, edited and analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. Analysing inferential data was done using the chi-square. Approval to conduct the research and ethical clearance were obtained from Kenyatta University and Research Permit from the National Commission for Science and Technology (NACOSTI). The results revealed that 82.1% of the participants had medium knowledge, 10.6% had high knowledge and 7.3% had low knowledge on managing solid waste at the household. The distribution of solid waste at the household depicted that large part was organic (67.4%). Waste disposal methods varied among residents, with 55.4% using open dumping, 95.7 % not sorting out their wastes and 72.5% retaining waste for more than a day in their residents. In comparison, 70.1% indicated using local government waste collection services. The main determinants of the management practice of solid waste at the household were poverty, ignorance, inadequate facilities, negative public attitudes toward garbage, and a lack of private sector involvement. The inferential analysis revealed that gender (p=0.003), household size (p=0.0001) and duration stayed in Kiganjo (p=0.0001) were significantly related to management practices of solid waste at the household, while occupation and education were not. Management practices of solid waste at the household practices were also related with knowledge on household solid waste sorting (p = 0.045), storage (p = 0.0001), collection (p = 0.0001) and disposal (p = 0.0001).The type of solid waste generated at the household was related to household solid waste collection (p = 0.0001) and disposal (p = 0.0001). The study concluded that management practices of solid waste at the household in Kiganjo area were influenced by poverty, ignorance, inadequate facilities, a lack of public support, a lack of private sector involvement, gender, household size, duration of stay in Kiganjo, knowledge and the type of solid waste generated at the household. The study recommends enforcing anti-dumping by-laws to discourage indiscriminate waste dumping in non-designated areas, providing communal solid waste storage facilities and inclusive participation of all partners.
Description
Keywords
Household, Solid Waste Management, Practices, Residents, Kiganjo, Informal Settlement, Kiambu County, Kenya