International Journal of Waste Resources

Abstract

Sustainable Solid Waste Collection in Addis Ababa: the Users’ Perspective

Mesfin Tilaye and Meine Pieter van Dijk

 Sustainability of solid waste management is high on the agenda of urban managers. Municipalities in developing countries are incapable of meeting the demand for urban services. Some years ago Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, took the initiative to overcome some of these problems by starting a reform process. It led to a significant shift in the institutional arrangements. Community-based initiatives are becoming increasingly important as a means of addressing the deficiencies of the formal system. This paper analyzes the households’ behaviour and their opinions concerning urban solid waste management practices. Sustainability will be considered from the public health, ecological and socio-economic perspective, following the PPP framework: sustainability concerns the people, the planet, and the profit sector. Primary data consisted of a household survey and interviews of local level officials. Three types of residents were studied: those living in slums, in residential areas, and in a commercial area mixed with houses. 135 households were selected randomly in each condition. The results suggest that from a socio-economic perspective (the profit angle) the service reform suited the interests of the city community by undertaking the service provision in a more sustainable manner. Regularity, reliability, service coverage and the frequency of service delivery to the households improved. Residents also have a good feeling about cost recovery, though also differing opinions were expressed. With regard to public health (the people's angle), improvements were observed concerning the cleanliness of the neighborhoods, while the city cleanliness lagged behind. In case of ecological sustainability (the planet perspective) economic incentives played a more important role than ecological concerns in separating and collecting reusable and recyclable items from the waste stream.