Attitudes of households toward solid waste management services and practices in Zanzibar

Solid waste is a visible concern in any environment especially for a tourist destination like Zanzibar. Zanzibar as the most rapidly growing tourist destination cannot afford to allow unsightly piles of solid waste and wind-blown litter on its streets. This will endanger its natural beauty, environmental and aesthetic value. This study examines the attitude of households towards solid waste management services and practices that can serve as an index for solid waste control. The attitude of households if properly harnessed can have a direct bearing on effective solid waste management through commitment and neighbourhood spirit even where there is loose enforcement of regulations. A quantitative study was carried out on 300 household, but only 294 questionnaires were useable for data analysis. Data was collected randomly using a structured questionnaire. An investigation into the attitude of householdsto solid waste services and practices was carried out with respect to awareness of ways of disposingof and segregating waste at source, rate of generation of waste, willingness to pay for solid waste management and methods for disposing of it. The study revealed that 71.1% are aware of ways for disposing of waste at source while 67% of the respondents pay for solid waste management. It was also noted that the rate of generation of waste was moderate (39.5%) and a reasonable number of households (47.6%) burn waste as an alternative method for disposing of waste. Limitations, recommendations and areas that need special attention that can contribute to knowledge as a new science were also discussed. Furthermore, the findings of this study will open the minds of different stakeholders to realize the importance of a clean environment and it can help policy makers to consider reforming the waste management policy.