Determinants of effective solid waste management in Bomet Town, Bomet County, Kenya.

Abstract

The management and disposal of solid waste has become a challenge in Bomet town, Bomet County. This is evidenced by the persistent stockpiles of uncollected waste found on almost all back streets and other open spaces or illegal dumps all over the town. The purpose of this study was to establish determinants of effective management of solid waste in Bomet town. The study focused on technology, availability of financial resources, community participation and the policies on solid waste management by the County government of Bomet. The sample of the study consisted of 160 respondents; 140 of whom were randomly selected household heads from the core urban population of Bomet town while key informants were purposively selected as follows; 10 from Bomet County government’s waste management office, 5 from National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and 5 from public health office. Data collection was done through questionnaires and interviews respectively. Analysis of the data was done using descriptive statistics which included frequencies and percentages. Cross tabulations was done by use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 software and Coefficient of internal consistency of the questionnaire calculated using the Cronbach’s alpha formula to show the relationship between various variables and test the significance of the solid waste management variables respectively. The study came up with recommendations as follows; the government should allocate enough finances for provision of SWM services within the urban area of Bomet town and increase the SWM's capacity to manage waste from residential and business areas, hire more employees for collection, sorting, composting and management. Educational activities such as the organisation of conferences, seminars and workshops, publication of training manuals, case studies and best practices, and provision of technical and financial assistance should be conducted. The study suggests further research on other social factors affecting the performance of Sustainable solid waste in Bomet town which may not have been identified in this study. Another suggestion is a study on the treatment of the solid waste at the final stages and its effects on human health.