ASSESSMENT OF SOLID WASTE GENERATING AND HANDLING PRACTICE IN WOLKITE TOWN

By: ETSEGENET FIKADU

A RESEARCH PAPER SUBMITTED TO DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, COLLEGE OF

PUBLIC HEALTH AND MEDICAL SCIENCES, JIMMA UNIVERSIT; IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN ENVIRONMENMENTAL HEALTH
SCIENCE.

JULY, 2012

JIMMA,
ETHIOPIA

1
JIMMA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND MEDICAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCE

ASSESSMENT OF SOLID WASTE GENERATING AND HANDLING PRACTICE IN WOLKITE TOWN

BY: ETSEGENET FIKADU

ADVISOR: GUDINA TEREFE (PhD Scholar)

FEBRUARY,2013
JIMMA,ETHIOPIA

2
Abstract
Data on solid waste generation rates and waste composition are the basic information to plan
and implement solid waste management systems. Wolkite town like other developing country
towns has poor solid waste management. This is mainly because of lack of information on the
generation rates of the waste. To fill the gap this study has been conducted. The objective of
the study is therefore to identify the compositions of household’s waste and analyze its
generation rate, and assess solid waste management systems of the town and suggest some
waste management options.
The study was conducted on randomly selected 138 households, which are expected to
represent all categories of income levels (Low, middle and high income levels) from
systematically selected 3 Kebeles of the town. Daily waste from those households was
separated in to its components, weight and volume of each component was recorded. This has
been conducted for 7 consecutive days to have better average per day domestic waste
generation rate. The household solid waste generation rate study indicates that in Wolkite the
per capita generation rate is 0.157 kg/c/d which makes the total daily, monthly and annual
generation 25, 750 and 9,125 tons respectively. The physical composition of the solid waste of
the city is mainly organic, which constitutes 60.3% and recyclable waste is 7.3% which assures
that 67.6% of the total waste is a resource to generate more income for employment. As a
result proper waste management can contribute its share in the poverty reduction and
sustainable development program of the government. The result shows that due to inadequate
solid waste management system, Wolkite town has faced a problem related to solid waste
collection and disposal. The existing infrastructure for solid waste collection in Wolkite town is
not proportional to the amount of solid waste generated from institutional, commercial and
residential sources. In addition one truck for collection and transportation of waste is not
adequate. The existing solid waste management experience in the town is investigated and it is
found to be not environmentally friendly as the solid waste is disposed indiscriminately on open
field and roadside.The major sanitation problems in Wolkite town are basically related to the
lack of proper
collection and disposal system of both solid and liquid wastes in the town.
The result of this study will provide the documentation of baseline data of the solid waste
generation rate of the town, which is prerequisite for further design of proper disposal system
including sanitary landfill. The responsible body for solid waste management of the Wolkite
town municipality is Health and Environmental sanitation section in collaboration with the town
Health office. Nevertheless, the office does not have the necessary technical, financial and
human power resources to cope up with the increasing demand of the growing population.

Acknowledgement

I would like to owe my heartfelt thank to my advisor Ato Gudina Terefe (PhD Scholar) who
enriched me with important feedbacks. And to the municipality workers of wolkite,for private
sectors & the population I’m grateful. Besides for those who participated in the conduction of
this research by data collecting and other tasks I want to say “thank you”

3
 List of Acronyms
 AACSBPDA- Addis Ababa City Sanitation, Beautification and Parks
 Development Agency
 CBO Community Based Organizations
 CSA Central Statistical Agency
 DSWGR Daily Solid Waste Generation Rate
 ISWM Integrated Solid Waste Management
 Masl Meters above sea level
 MSE Micro and Small Enterprises
 MSWM Municipal Solid Waste Management
 PCPDSWGR Per Capita Per Day Solid Waste Generation Rate
 RSW Residential Solid Waste
 SWMS Solid Waste Management Systems
 USEPA United States Environmental Protection Authority

LIST OF TABLES

 Table 1 Domestic Solid Waste Composition by percent

 Table2. Household solid waste generation rate of Wolkite Town
 Table 3 Average family size of each income level
 Table 4. Family size of participating households
 Table 5 Sources of energy
 Table 6. Types of wastes reused
 Table 7 Exchanged or sold wastes
 Table 8 Solid waste mass burning condition of households
 Table9. Distances of cars from households.

LIST OF ANNEXS

 ANNEX 1. QUESTIONNAIRE ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA

 ANNEX 2. CHECK LIST ABOUT WOLKITE TOWN

4
 Table of Contents Pages

Abstract ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
Acknowledgment ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
List of Acronyms --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4
Table of contents --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
List of Annexes ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
1.Introduction.................................................................................................... 6
1.1Background and Justification...................................................................... 6
1.2 Objectives of the study......................................................................... 7
1.2.1 General Objectives.................................................................................. 7
1.2.2 Specific objectives ................................................................................... 7
1.3 Significance of the study............................................................................. 8
1.4 Scope of the study....................................................................................... 8
1.5 Statement of the Problem.............................................................................. 8
2. LITERATUREREVIEW................................................................................ 9
2.1 Municipal solid wastes.................................................................................... 9
2.2 Sources and components of solid waste........................................................ 10
2.3 Physical composition of Residential solid waste ....................................... 10
2.4 Solid waste Generation rate ........................................................................... 10
2.5 Solid waste management.......................................................................... 11
2.5.1 History of solid waste management in Wolkite Town................................. 11
2.5.2 Existing solid waste management system in Wolkite.................................. 12
2.6 Effects and impacts of solid waste...................................................... 12
2.6.1 Public health concerns ........................................................................... 13
2.6.2 Aesthetic concerns ...................................................................................... 13
2.6.3 Ecological Concerns ................................................................................... 14
2.7 Collection of Solid Waste .............................................................................. 14
2.8 Waste Disposal and alternative waste managementoptions...................... 14
2.8.1 Source Reduction, Reuse and Recycle....................................................... 14
2.8.2 Composting................................................................................................. 15
2.8.3 Incineration ................................................................................................ 15
2.8.4 Sanitary Landfill .................................................................................................... 15
2.9 Integrated Solid Waste Management .................................................................... 16
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY..................................................................................... 16
3.1 Description of the study Area- Wolkite .................................................................. 16
3.2 Sample Size Determinations .................................................................................... 17

5
3.3 Identification of households...................................................................................... 18
3.4 Sources of Data ........................................................................................................ 18
3.5 Data Collection and sorting of wastes ..................................................................... 18
3.6 Statistical Data Organization and Analysis................................................................ 19
3.7 Materials and instruments ...................................................................................... 19
3.8 Study variables ………………………………………………………………………………… 19
3.9 Ethical consideration …………………………………………………………………….. 20
3.10 Dissemination of results ………………………………………………………………. 20
3.11 Limitations of the study .......................................................................................... 20
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
4.1 Determination of Daily, Monthly and Yearly SW Generation Rate ……………………………..22
4.2 Percentage composition of Residential SW component …………………………………………….22
4.3 Socio-Economic conditions ……………………………………………………………………………………….24
4.3.1 Income of households ………………………………………………………………………………………….24
4.3.2 Family Size ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….24
4.3.3 Sources of Energy ……………………………………………………………………………………………25
4.4 Onsite Solid Waste handling ……………………………………………………………………………………. 25
4.4.1 Solid Waste Storage ……………………………………………………………………………………………26
4.4.2 Waste reuse ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….26
4.4.3 Exchanged or Sold Solid Wastes …………………………………………………………………………… 26
4.4.4 Solid waste Combustion (Burning) ………………………………………………………………………... 27
4.5 Solid Waste collection and Disposal practices ………………………………………………………….. 27
4.5.1 Pre collection practices ……………………………………………………………………………………………27
4.5.2 Road access ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….28
4.5.3 Distance to private waste disposers ……………………………………………………………………. 28
5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….29
5.2 Recommendations …………………………………………………………………………………………..29

References ............................................................................................................. 31
ANNEX 1. QUESTIONNAIRE ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA................................ 35
ANNEX 2. CHECK LIST ABOUT WOLKITE TOWN. ................................................. 37

6
1. Introduction
1.1 Background and Justification
In ancient cities, food scraps and other wastes were simply thrown into the unpaved streets,
where they accumulated. Around 320 B.C. in Athens, the first known law forbidding this
practice was established and a system of waste removal began to evolve in several eastern
Mediterranean cities. As populations increased, efforts were made to transport the wastes
farther out and the city dump was thus created. (Lem Ethiopia, 2006). Solid waste management
(SWM) is one of the critical concerns facing the developing countries because of the social,
economic and environmental implications once not properly managed. Studies show that only
30-50% of the waste generated in developing countries is collected and managed properly
(Dawit and Alebel, 2003). The rest is either burned or left to decompose in open space or
dumped in unregulated landfills, which is damaging the environment. The base of successful
planning for a municipal solid waste management system is reliable information about the
quantity and type of material being generated. The quantity and type of waste generated
determines the decisions for managing them (Tchobanoglous et al., 1977). It is thus a
prerequisite for collection program managers to have detailed information about the nature
and quantity of solid waste generated in order to set appropriate management systems.
In Ethiopia, alike developing countries, the increase of solid waste generation is resulted from
rapid urbanization and population booming. According to Dawit and Alebel (2003), the amount
of solid waste in Addis Ababa and other fast growing areas in the country has been increasing
over time, largely attributed to rapid population growth rate. The same authors indicated that
from the total solid waste released by the population in the city, about 50-60% was collected
and the rest was unattended. Recently the municipality has increased its coverage to about 85%
(AACG-SPBA-2005).
Wolkite, as being one of the fast growing towns of the country, has increasing solid waste
generation. The average per capita generation rate, according to estimation of Ministry of
Health, a person generates 0.15kg/day solid waste (Ministry of Health, 1996). According to CSA
population projection of 2007, Wolkite town has a population of 45,000 (CSA, Wolkite, 2007).
Based on these data, 7 tones of residential solid waste is being generated every day in the
town.
Inadequate solid waste management in Wolkite town has resulted in the accumulation of waste
on open lands, in drains and in the residential areas, causing a nuisance and foul-smelling pools,
environmental pollution through leachate from piles (water and soil pollution) and burning of
waste (air pollution), clogging of drains. This situation is believed to result in poor
environmental conditions, which in turn present a formidable threat to health. There is thus a
need for improved waste management system of the town. Data on the composition, the
volume and weight of waste generated and collected in Wolkite town is limited. Therefore,

7
conducting studies on generation and composition of solid waste at the present demographic
and socio-economic conditions is very
essential. Therefore, it was planned to conduct a study on solid waste quantity and composition
of household in Wolkite town. It is hoped that this study will have paramount importance in
providing relevant information that is basic to design appropriate solid waste management
system or as a step to conduct more systematic study in the town of Wolkite with the following
objectives.
1.2 Objectives of the study
1.2.1 General Objectives
To enhance solid waste management of Wolkite town by generating information about
household waste compositions and generation rate and to recommend feasible solid waste
management options for Wolkite town.
1.2.2 Specific objectives
-To determine the generation rate and the composition of household solid waste in the
town.
-To let the society implement the appropriate methods of waste management.

-To evaluate the storage system

-To determine the type of storage and duration of the waste in the storage
-To know the disposal facility and to recommend possible alternatives of waste
management methods based on the characteristics of the wastes.
1.3 Significance of the study
The result of this study is expected to provide the following advantages to the town
administration.
_ To adopt the best alternative RSW management options that are sustainable and
environmentally friendly.
_ Alleviate health impacts associated with municipal solid waste management.
_ Creates job opportunity for unemployed residents of Wolkite town and the surrounding
rural community as well.
_ Serves as the basic source of information about the impacts and appropriate residential solid
waste management techniques.
_ Invites individuals, communities and researchers to develop awareness about the ever
increasing problems associated with household solid waste.
1.4 Scope of the study
Municipal solid waste management encompasses all waste streams from various sources such
as households, commercials, institutional etc. It also comprises of all activities including waste
generation rate and composition identification, to waste collection, storage, transfer, waste
processing, transportation, and disposal systems of all streams. i.e. Residential, commercial,

8
industrial and institutional. The scope of this study focuses only on the household waste
generation rate.
1.5 Statement of the Problem
Wolkite, as one of rapid urbanizing town, is far from satisfying the infrastructure demand of its
inhabitants. Its solid waste management is poor. The section responsible for the waste
management of the town is poorly equipped materially, financially, and in terms of human
resources to provide the expected service appropriately. One of the major issues that the
development strategy should incorporate is the issue of urban environment, which mainly deals
with the municipal waste management. Practical aspects associated with solid waste
management systems are financing, operations,
equipment management, personnel, reporting, cost accounting and budgeting, contract
administration, guide lines and public communications are basic for proper solid waste
management (Tchobanoglous et al., 1977). Wolkite has a population of more than 45,000 (CSA,
Wolkite, 2006) and experiencing rapid urbanization rate. Waste treatment, reduction from its
source, recycling of wastes or energy recovery from the wastes are not well exercised, the main
activity being done is collection and dumping of wastes at dumping site. Currently the
municipality is capable of collecting 35% of the waste generated in the town (Wolkite MPRP-
2004) the remaining 65% is indiscriminately disposed off in drainage lines, open spaces, street
sides, urges and or is informally burned. This spoils the beauty of the town and it affects the
health of inhabitants. Poor environmental quality of cities can deprive citizens a good quality of
life as it affects their health and consequently, affect productivity and economic development
adversely (Taddesse, 2004). Any future system for collection and disposal of this refuse will
have to be geared to the total amount and characteristics of the material produced (Hagerty,
1973). Hence, it is necessary to collect and generate baseline information with regard to the
amount and composition of solid wastes that are generated in the town.
The area (Wolkite town) is selected to this research for the following reasons.
The town is among the fast growing towns in the country where solid waste
management problem is crucial.
Only limited surveys were conducted so far regarding its solid waste generation rate and
composition. This in turn creates big problem to manage the waste.
Where Chat waste (Locally named as Geraba) is indiscriminately disposed.
The town is the rest point for most country cross transportation.
With the rapid urbanizations in many countries including Ethiopia, the generation of solid waste
in cities is ever increasing, while possible disposal areas for solid waste are diminished. As a
result cities and towns are facing the challenge of managing municipal waste. Solid waste
collection system in many countries can not cope with the increasing volume of solid waste.
Collection service coverage of less than 70% is not uncommon in developing countries. These
inadequate municipal solid waste management systems cause environmental and public health

9
problems (Lemma, 2007). The same is true in Wolkite town. Because of the inadequacy of
proper collection and disposal of
solid wastes, municipal and public health authorities and others concerned with disease
prevention and control organizations in the town of Wolkite are seriously confronted with the
issue of improving the solid waste management system.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Municipal solid wastes
Municipal solid waste is defined as, a material for which the primary generator or user
abandoning the material within the urban area requires no compensation upon abandonment.
This definition covers all urban solid wastes if it is generally perceived by society as being within
the responsibility of the municipality to collect and dispose off (Cointreau, 1982). Some authors
also define municipal solid waste (MSW) as material which is useless or unwanted material
discarded as a result of human or animal activity. Most commonly, it is solids, semisolids or
liquids in containers thrown out of houses, commercial or industrial premises (ESI Africa, 2004).
The major type and source of municipal solid waste are food, paper, plastic, glass, metals and
various other households’ items including street sweepings and general refuse from
households, commercial, institutional establishments and non-hazardous solid wastes from
industries (Tchobanoglous et al., 1977: Bilitewski et al., 1977).
2.2 Sources and components of solid waste
The sources of solid wastes are residential, commercial, institutional, construction and
demolish, municipal services, industrial, treatment plants sites and agricultural wastes
(Tchobanoglous et al., 1977). Various industrial plants generate wastes, which are mainly
hazardous wastes during their raw material preparation, production or transportation
processes. The waste generated from such sources is not only hazardous but also inorganic
requiring special treatment before final disposal
(Bilitewski et al., 1977). In this regard, in Jimma small scale manufacturing activities are found
and produce significant amounts of wastes. Solid waste sources are mainly municipal services in
the town Wolkite . In Wolkite the length of Asphalted road is very small where street cleaning is
under taken. From observations, cleaning of the drainage lines is not frequently conducted,
thus the lines are almost full with solid wastes most of the time (Lem Ethiopia, 2006).
2.3 Physical Composition of Residential Solid Waste
The composition of a municipal solid waste stream is important for designing material recovery
facilities and developing other waste minimization programs. Successful characterization
depends on obtaining representative samples of the collected solid waste and making
statistically precise and accurate estimates of components weights (Zeng et al., 2005) The
percentage of RSW components vary with location, season, economic condition and many
other factors (Tchobanoglous et al., 1977). Components that typically make up most MSW

10
include food wastes, paper, ash, plastic, metals, textiles, glass and ceramics, etc. Different
sources express physical properties of municipal solid waste by its density, particle size,
moisture content, etc. (Holmes, 1981; Tchobanoglous et al., 1977). According to these sources,
density-specific weight (weight per unit volume) is managed by assessing total mass and
volume of waste.
It has major role in determining compaction, decomposition and incineration. Other physical
properties of municipal solid waste are particle size and porosity (permeability), which are
important in managing material recovery and governing movements of liquid and gases in a
landfill.
2.4 Solid Waste Generation Rate
Solid waste quantities should always be expressed in terms of weight not volume, since the
latter varies with compaction (Vesiline and Rimer, 1981). Significant variations in composition
and quantity also depend on economic status, geographical characteristics of land, rainfall,
climate, habits of people what they eat and drink, the package material they purchase, etc. The
reason for measuring solid waste generation rate is to obtain
data to determine the total amount of wastes to be managed (Tchobanoglous et al., 1981)
According to Gordon’s estimations referred to in a report documented by AACSBPDA in 2003,
the solid waste generation rate in Addis Ababa is estimated to be 0.15-0.252kg/GNP/day
(Bjerkli, 2005).

2.5 Solid waste management

Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) is the generation, separation, collection, transfer,
transportation and disposal of waste in a way that takes in to account public health, economics,
conservation, aesthetics, and the environment, and is responsive to public demands (WWF,
2005). According to the World Bank, overall goal of solid waste management should be to
collect, treat and dispose of solid wastes generated by all population groups in an
environmentally and socially satisfactory manner using the most economical means available.
Solid waste management is in crisis in many of the world’s largest urban areas as population
attracted to cities continues to grow and this has lead to ever increasing quantity of domestic
waste while space for disposal decreases (world Bank, 1999). Historically, the aim of waste
management has been to prevent or to reduce the impact of waste materials on health or local
amenity. Over the last 30 years, however, the focus of waste management has shifted to
reducing impact of environment and to recover resources from waste materials. Waste
management can involve solid, liquid or gaseous wastes, with different methods and fields of
expertise for each (Lemma, 2007) There is a need for a complete rethinking of “waste” – to
analyze if waste is waste. A thinking that calls for waste to become wealth, refuse to become
resource, trash to become cash (Lem Ethiopia, 2006).

11
2.5.1 History of solid waste management in Wolkite Town
In 1943 Sanitation rules /legal Notice No.25/ with regard to wells, food, vaccination and refuse
was proclaimed. In 1950, legal Notice No. 148 was proclaimed with regard to refuse
proclamation No.147 which established Ministry of Public health in Ethiopia, defines
‘Sanitation” as the surveillance of food stuffs, and beverages, buildings and factories, and of the
methods employed for the water wells, drainage and sewerage systems (Lem Ethiopia, 2006).
When the Wolkite city was built as an administrative center there was hardly any thought of
waste a potential threat. Rural tradition of disposing waste in the open air was instantly
transferred to the emerging city to perpetuate to these days.
In the early days of the problem of sanitation in Wolkite may not have a significant impact.
Because there was no over population and the houses were easier to dispose rubbish and other
generated wastes, but latter when population increased the problem became worse and the
government tried to minimize the problem by establishing municipality. Hence, solid waste
collection started using wooden trunk and barrels put at different places in the town. Later the
municipality bought one dump truck .The dump truck used to collect and dispose the solid
waste outside the town. Although the history shows that the municipality started to manage
the wastes of the town more than many years ago but still the service is found to be at
rudimentary stage.
2.5.2 Existing solid waste management system in Wolkite
One of the most important problems of Wolkite town is the solid waste management. The core
problem is the pollution of the environment, especially streets and ditches. The pollution
increases the health risks of the population and reduces the value of the environment. The
municipality has only limited data on the rate of generation and composition. But some studies
show that the daily solid waste generation rate is 0.0014m3 and the composition is 8.45%
garbage, 79.42% combustible and 2.13% non-combustible. The types of solid wastes produced
in the residential areas consist of mainly organic which consists of materials such as food waste,
paper of all types, card board, textiles, rubber, leather, wood and yard wastes. While the
inorganic fraction consists of items such as glass, metals of different types etc. The disposal site
that is currently in use for the total of Wolkite town is open field located at a distance of about
5 km from the town on Emdiber road. This is an agricultural area where no extra preparation
done to make it proper disposal site.
Chat chewing is popularly known and widely practiced in the town, which produces large
amount of waste and thus increasing the amount of waste generated in the town.
The use and discarding of plastic bags, commonly called ‘’festal’’ is observed everywhere in the
town and the trend seems to be increasing. Not only is the festal pollution unpleasant to look at
but it also blocks natural and manmade drainage lines, decreases the rate of decomposition of
organic wastes. Inadequate waste collection compounded with inappropriate final disposal
system has increased the probability of ‘’festal’’ consumption by livestock, which has

12
endangered their health and their produce. On top of this, it has adverse long-term effect on
the environment.
2.6 EFFECTS AND IMPACTS OF SOLID WASTES
If solid wastes are not managed properly there are many negative impacts that may result. In
order to give more emphasis for the management work, one must have a good understanding
about the effects and risks that may arise from improperly managed solid wastes. The following
are lists found to be the most important effects associated with uncontrolled solid wastes.
_ Uncollected wastes cause blockage of drains, which result in flooding and unsanitary
conditions,
_ Flies and Mosquitoes breed in some constituents of solid wastes, and flies are very
effective vectors that spread disease,
_ Waste dumps are good shelter for rats. Rats consume and spoil food, spread disease,
damage electrical cables and other materials,
_ Uncollected wastes degrade the urban environment, discouraging efforts to keep the
streets and open places in a clean and attractive conditions,
_ Dangerous items (such as broken glass, razor blades, needles and other healthcare wastes,
aerosol cans and potentially explosive containers) may pose risks of injury or poisoning,
particularly to children and people who sort through waste,
_ Waste items that are recycled without being cleaned effectively or sterilized can transmit
infection to later users,
_ Polluted water (leachate) flowing from waste dumps and disposal sites can cause serious
pollution of water supplies.
_ Waste that is treated or disposed of in unsatisfactory ways can cause a severe aesthetic
nuisance in terms of smell and appearance.
_ Fires on disposal sites can cause major air pollution, causing illness and reducing
visibility, making disposal sites dangerously unstable, causing explosions of cans, and
possibly spreading to adjacent property and etc. As described by Tchobanoglous et al 1977,
public health, aesthetic and ecological concerns are the major impacts associated with the solid
waste generation
2.6.1 Public health concerns
The concerns of public health are related primarily to the infestation of areas used for the
storage of solid wastes with vermin and insects that often serve as potential reservoirs of
disease. The practice of throwing wastes into unpaved streets, road ways and vacant land led to
the breeding of rats, with their attendant fleas carrying the germs of disease that result in
disease outbreak. The lack of any plan for the management of solid wastes led to the epidemic
of various diseases. The most effective control measure for both fleas and rats is proper
sanitation. This involves the use of containers with tight lids, the periodic washing of containers,

13
storage areas and periodic removal of biodegradable materials, which is especially important in
areas with warm climates.
2.6.2 Aesthetic concerns
Aesthetic considerations are related to the production of odors and the unsightly conditions
that can develop when adequate attention is not given to the maintenance of sanitary
conditions. Most odors can be controlled through the use of containers with tight lids and with
the maintenance of a reasonable collection frequency. If odor persists, the container can be
sprayed as a temporary expedient. To maintain aesthetic conditions the container should be
scrubbed and washed periodically.

2.6.3 Ecological Concerns

Ecological impacts, such as water and air pollutions, also have been attributed to improper
management of solid wastes. For instance, leachate from dumps and poorly engineered
landfills contaminate surface waters and ground waters as it may contain toxic elements such
as copper, arsenic etc.
2.7 Collection of Solid Waste
The term collection includes not only the gathering or picking up of solid wastes from the
various sources, but also the hauling of these wastes to the location where the contents of the
collection vehicles are emptied (Tchobanoglous, 1993). There are three basic types of collection
equipments: Human powered, Animal powered, and Engine powered. (According to
Nurconsult, 1982 and AAHB, 1997) they are described as follows.
_ Human-powered collection equipment: These include pushcarts, pedal tricycles,
wheelbarrows, and two wheeled dollies with baskets. In general, these equipments
require some sort of smooth surface on the lanes to be effective.
_ Animal-powered collection equipment: Animal powered collection equipment either
takes the form of drawn carts or the animal may be directly backed with containers such
as basket. This type of collection is applicable in the cities where there is no much traffic.
_ Engine-powered collection equipment: These includes all motorized vehicles, like
tricycles with hydraulic tipping containers mounted on the back, tractors pulling wheel
containers, and trucks with mobile containers. This mode of collection system is used in
the cities where road accessibility is not a limiting factor. In the case of Wolkite town, both
human, animal and motorized collection equipment have been used. There exists three broad
types of refuse collection systems namely door-to-door, block, and communal collections that
are facilitated by only one collection vehicle.
2.8 Waste Disposal and alternative waste management options
Solid waste disposal (the disposal of solid or semi-solid materials) resulting from human and
animal activities that are useless, unwanted, or hazardous. Most of the municipal solid waste
(MSW) in developing countries is dumped on land in a more or less uncontrolled manner. These

14
dumps make very uneconomical use of the available space, allow free access to waste pickers,
animals and flies and often produce unpleasant and hazardous smoke from slow burning fires.
The safe and reliable long-term disposal of solid waste residues is an important component of
integrated waste management (Tchobanoglous et al., 1977). Disposal is the ultimate fate of all
solid wastes collected and transported to landfill site, incinerator, compost or other substances
from the various solid waste processing plants that are of no further use to society. There is
currently one open landfill dumping site known as Gubre located 5 km away from Wolkite
town, which is found in Cheha Woreda. This site has been given service since 2003 ec.
2.8.1 Source Reduction, Reuse and Recycle
Source Reduction means decreasing the amount or toxicity of the materials that we thrown
away. Effective source reduction promotes the use of products that generate the smallest
environmental impacts (USEPA, 1990). It includes
Purchasing of long lasting goods
Seeking products and packaging which are as free of toxics as possible.
Redesigning products to use fewer raw materials in production, have a longer life, or are
used again after its original use. Reusing items- by repairing them, donating them to charity and
community groups, or selling them – also reduces waste. Reusing products, when possible, is
even better than recycling because the item does not need to be reprocessed before it can be
used again. Whereas, recycling turns materials that would otherwise become waste into
valuable resources. In addition, it generates a host of environmental, financial, and social
benefits. Materials like glass, metal, plastics, and paper are collected, separated and sent to
facilities that can process them into new
materials or products.

2.8.2 Composting
Composting has been defined (Haug, 1980) as the biological decomposition and stabilization of
organic substrates under conditions that allow development of thermophilic temperatures as a
result of biologically produced heat. Therefore, the final product is sufficiently stable for storage
and application to land with out adverse environmental effects. Composting is usually applied
to solid or semi-solid materials and can be carried out under either aerobic or anaerobic
conditions. The aerobic products consist of carbon dioxide, water, ammonia, and heat, whereas
methane and
other volatile acids are produced by anaerobic composting (Martin, 1991)
2.8.2 Incineration
Incineration (mass burning with a Temperature of 900-10000c) is the term used for the
combustion of solid wastes. In properly designed and operated incinerator, there is a
substantial reduction in the volume of waste material. The residue (ash) is eventually disposed
of by landfill or used for road construction in some countries. The process is extremely hygienic

15
and many of the problems associated with landfill, such as windblown refuses, rodents and
flies, are completely eliminated (Hall et al., 1993). Domestic waste is characterized by its
heterogeneity and can range from an old refrigerator to a sackful of bones or a tea chest of old
books. Thus, equipment for reducing the size of irregular objects is normally a prerequisite at
most incinerator
plants (WB, 1999).
2.8.3 Sanitary Landfill
A sanitary landfill is a method of solid waste disposal that functions without creating a nuisance
or hazard to public health or safety. Engineering principles are used to confine the waste to the
smallest practical area and volume, and cover it with a layer of compacted soil at the end of
each day of operation, or more frequently if necessary. This covering of the waste makes the
sanitary landfill “Sanitary”. The compacted layer effectively denies continued access to the
waste by insects, rodents, and other animals. It also isolates the refuse from the air, thus
minimizing the amount of surface water entering into and gas escaping from wastes. The most
significant possible hazard from a sanitary landfill is ground water or surface water pollution by
leachate. Landfilling is necessary for municipal solid waste disposal but every landfill has its own
finite
capacity. The most common approach to extending the life of landfills is to introduce recycling,
composting, and incineration in to the solid waste disposal system (Chang and Nishat, 2005)
2.9 Integrated Solid Waste Management
There is no single right way to manage municipal wastes responsibly as described by
Tchobanoglous et al. (1977). Integrated waste management, or IWM, is a tool to determine the
most energy efficient, least polluting ways to deal with the various components and items of a
community’s solid waste stream (Stokoe and Teague, 1995). Therefore Integrated Solid Waste
Management (ISWM) is a comprehensive waste prevention, recycling, composting and disposal
program in ways that most effectively protect human health and the environment. ISWM
involves evaluating local needs and conditions, and then selecting and combining the most
appropriate waste management activities for those conditions. Each activity such as waste
prevention, recycling, composting etc require careful planning, financing, collection and
transport of solid waste. Life cycle assessment (LCA) which is used to assess the environmental
impacts of products from cradle to grave, has to be applied for evaluation of waste starts when
a material is discarded in to the waste stream and ends when the waste material has either
been converted in to a resource (such as recycled material or recovered energy) or, when it has
been finally disposed. Perhaps the most important requirement for an alternative is that it has
to be quantifiable with respect to equipment, disposal site, economics, etc (Tchobanoglous et
al., 1977).

16
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Description of the study Area-Wolkite
Wolkite is a town and separate woreda in southwestern Ethiopia. The administrative center of
the Gurage Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNPR), this town
has a latitude and longitude of 8°17′N 37°47′E / 8.283°N 37.783°E / 8.283; 37.783 and an
elevation between 1910 and 1935 meters above sea level. It is surrounded by Kebena woreda
and it was part of former Goro woreda.

According to the Gurage Zone government, Welkite is one of 12 towns with electrical power,
one of 11 with telephone service and one of nine that have postal service.The SNNPR's Bureau
of Finance and Economic Development, adds that as of 2003 Welkite also had a bank branch
and other financial institutions, as well as a hospital. An all-weather road was built in 1963
which connects Welkite to Addis Ababa by way of Endibir.

At Welkite an extreme example of an attempt at eviction of tenants before the Ethiopian

revolution is reported to have occurred. A retired colonel living in the area held title to 4,000
hectares, which some 500 tenants cultivated. Following a fertilizer demonstration by the United
Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization in 1969, the colonel decided to introduce
modernized farming. At first he decided to modernize rapidly and announced that he was going
to terminate the tenancy relationships with all of his tenants. The tenants, however, are said to
have responded violently, attempting to stone their landlord one night as he left a bar in
Welkite. The colonel then changed tactics, modernizing his lands piecemeal and evicting smaller
numbers of tenants. By 1972 he had 160 hectares under tractor cultivation, and 140 tenant
families were said to have been evicted. These people did not, however, leave the area, relying
on the ensete cultivations around their houses for a minimum of food.

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, this town has a total population of 45,000.
The majority of the inhabitants practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 48.17% of the
population reporting that belief, while 42.31% were Muslim, 7.86% were Protestants, and
1.34% were Catholic.

The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 15,329 of whom 7,580
were men and 7,749 were women. In the villages around Welkite there are believed to be
about 1,000 speakers of Gumuz, who are a Nilo-Saharan people whose homeland straddles the
border between Ethiopia and Sudan.

3.2 Sample Size Determinations

In any sample survey, sample size determination is an important step. To determine
sample size of households those to participate in the study, a sample technique (formula),

17
which was developed by Cochran (1977) to determine sample size (n) with the desired
degree of precession for general population, will be used. In this case population variable (p)
is house units variable, and is given as;
d N Z PQ
NZ PQ
n22
2
−1 

Where n= sample size of housing units
P = Housing unit variable
Q= 1-P
N= Total No of housing units
Z= Standardized normal variable and valued that corresponds to 95% confidence
interval equal to 1.96
d = Allowable error (0.05)
According to data obtained from housing development section of the town (2006), there
are
about 27,000 legal housing units (N): Out of these more than 90% (P) are residential and
the rest
10% (Q) is for commercial activities, offices and for others.
Hence
d N)Z PQ
NZ PQ
n
22
2
−1 
=

0.0527,000 11.960.90.1
27,000 1.96 0.9 0.1
22
2
−
x

= 138
Therefore, n = 138 is the minimum sample size of housing units for reliable results.

3.3 Identification of households

To identify participatory households, all households were stratified in to three income level
groups; low, middle and high income groups. Since there is lack of data on income level of the
households, grouping was actually done in discussion with Wolkite town administration, kebele

18
officials and some individuals who are expected to know residents in the kebele. Moreover,
some information collected from different surveys of Addis Ababa and at country level by the
Central Statistics Authority and other researchers, was taken in to consideration for
comparison. Based on their life standards, housing and other facilities, households will be
categorized in to lowincome groups (the poor group), middle and high income groups.
Households which were categorized under low income (the poor) were those who are living in
slum areas and congested living rooms. In doing this, effort was made to represent all corners
of the town. After grouping (stratification) households, 118 households (85.5%) from low
income group, 13 households (9.4%) from middle income and 7 households (5.1%) from high-
income groups will be selected. Systematic random sampling technique were employed to sort
out sample residential houses to each of the three income groups (Agresty and Finlay, 1986).
After the house numbers of the housing units of each Kebele was selected, the participating
houses were identified using their respective house numbers after intensive survey. If the
selected housing units were not serving as a home or households are non-cooperative; the next
housing number was directly selected.
3.4 Sources of Data
Primary data regarding the solid waste generation rate, percentage composition of RSW
components, socio-economic status, housing condition, onsite solid waste handling, and
currently existing RSWM practices of the residents of Wolkite town was determined at the
household level from a survey of 284 residential houses. The secondary data have been the
main resources of information for the study. The secondary sources of data will include books,
published articles both from Internet and journals, various research papers that are published
or unpublished, government publications, etc.
3.5 Data Collection and sorting of wastes
To obtain adequate information for the study, different types of data collection tools will be
employed. These were questionnaire, a focus group discussion, and field observation. The
structured questionnaire was set for selected households to have information about their socio
economic status, housing condition, onsite solid waste handling and solid waste disposal
practices. Actual collection and sorting of wastes from the participating households will be
conducted for eight consecutive days, but the first day data was discarded to be confident
enough. In order to have an average result of the whole days of the week, in case of differences
in waste generation between days, each household were given a plastic bag labeled with its
house number. Next day during collection, another bag with the same label was given for the
next day collection, and this process continued for seven days.
The collection will be done by three trained collectors using Bajajs. One is assigned to one
Kebele. Every morning these Bajajs brought data to the strategically selected working site.
Finally components of solid wastes were separated, weighed and recorded by the
researcher.

19
3.6 Statistical Data Organization and Analysis
The primary data obtained from sample residential houses through direct measurement (solid
waste generated), questionnaire and focus group discussion was analyzed basically using
averages, ratios and percentages as a major summarizing tool. Excel program will used for the
analyses of data obtained from solid waste measurements and questionnaire. The average
waste generated by the different households were calculated for low, medium and high-income
levels. Results were compared whether the average waste generation rate was the same for
each socioeconomic level or not. Moreover, the household waste components will be analyzed
and compared based on socio-economic levels. The percentage composition of fractions by
household income was presented using tables Charts and graphs.
3.7 Materials and instruments
To carry out the analysis a number of items of equipment like hand protective plastic gloves for
handling, hand push and horse drown carts for transport of waste, scales of different ranges,
wood containers for volume measurements, wire mesh or Sieve / to separate waste, 10 mm
thick plastic sheets to cover the floor, plastic bag for collection and sorting of solid wastes, trash
bag for collection of already processed wastes, photo cameras to record the research process
were used.
3.8. study variables
 

             i.      Dependent variables

-          knowledge of solid waste generating and handling
-          attitude of solid waste generating and handling
-          practice of solid waste generating and handling
 

         ii.      Independent variables

-          Age
-          Sex
-          Family income
-          Ethnicity
-          Religion

3.9 Ethical consideration

To proceed the data collection process permission from Jimma University Continuing and
Distance Education program student office will be sent to whom it may concern.

3.10 Dissemination of results

The finding of the study is provided to the wolkite town municipality.

3.11 Limitations of the study

20
The major limitation in this study is lack of relevant socioeconomic data on population of the
town. Finding households categorized into income levels as low,middle and high-income level
was difficult. All these together with distributions of randomly selected households, made the
identification of sample households difficult. Willingness of selected households to give reliable
information and participate in the study is also another difficulty. Specially information on
income level of the family is difficult to find, or needed asking several questions and long
discussion. Some times additional references were needed. Considering variations between
days in waste composition and generation rate, a week round (seven days) sampling was
conducted. However, due to lack of financial resource and time, seasonal variation was not
considered.
In general, since no such kind of study has been conducted so far in the town, lack of
references, baseline data on solid waste generation rates and composition were also the major
problems.

21
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
4.1 Determination of Daily, Monthly and Yearly SW Generation Rate
Daily Solid waste generation rate (DSWGR) of the town as well as per capita per day solid waste
generation Rate at household level can be calculated as follows.
Per capita per day solid waste generation rate (PCPDSWGR) is given by
PCPDSWGR = Total Solid Waste generation within 7 days
7 days x total family size of 138 survey households
= 884.621 Kg = 0.157 kg /capita/day
7 x 805
The population of Wolkite Town in 2006 was 45,000. Taking this figure into account, the daily,
monthly and yearly solid waste generation rate of Wolkite town will be 8, 240 and 2920 tones
respectively. Households are categorized in to three groups depending on their monthly per
capita income of their family members. Per capita income level and solid waste generation
rates have direct relationship (Wells, 1996). Households that have better life standard use more
consumption materials than low income households do, through which they generate higher
wastes.
4.2 Percentage composition of Residential SW component
The physical composition by percent of residential solid wastes of Wolkite town extracted from
138 sample households is summarized in Table1. The percentage composition of each
residential solid waste component generated from households was determined by dividing the
total amount of a particular solid waste component type collected over a weak with the total
amount of solid waste of all components with in seven days and then multiplying it by 100.
Similarly, the solid waste generation rate per capita per day (SWGRPCPD) was determined by
dividing the total amount of solid waste generated from 138 households with in seven days by
the total number of persons over 138 sample residential houses and then dividing the result by
seven.

Table 1 Domestic Solid Waste Composition by percent

No. SW component Weight in kg Volume in liter % by wt. %by Vol.
1 Ash and fine sands 32.47 45.66 21.5 12.8
2 Dust 22.84 39.51 15.1 11.1
3 Food Waste 48.26 121.49 32.1 34.1
4 Glass and ceramics 0.68 1.83 0.5 0.5
5 Leaves and Grasses 29.52 41.38 19.6 11.6
6 Metals 0.39 0.52 0.3 0.2
7 Paper 3.14 29.77 2.1 8.3
8 Plastics 3.52 35.92 2.3 10.1
9 Rubber and leather 0.82 4.55 0.5 1.3
10 Textile 2.11 10.62 1.4 3.0
11 Wood 0.64 3.08 0.4 0.9
12 Others 6.38 21.52 4.2 6.1

22
Total 150.55 355.85 100.0 100.0
Table1 indicates the major compositions of domestic solid wastes from the studied households.
As can be seen from Table1 food wastes constitute 32.1% of the total household wastes by
weight. Studies also showed that large portion of solid wastes of developing countries is food
wastes (Tchobanglous et al., 1993). For example, food waste accounts 59.17% by weight of the
total wastes in Arada Sub-City, Addis Ababa (Yitayal, 2005), 36% in Makurdi-Nigeria, (Sha’ Ato et
al., 2006), 40.7% in Guadalajara, Mexico (Perez et al., 2001). Next to food wastes, ash accounts
for (21.5%) by weight in Wolkite town, which is very large compared to some towns of the
country. This might be due to all fine wastes including fire residue were included in the ash
component during the study time. The major factor, which causes the proportion of ash to be
high, is the life style of the population. As mentioned in Table5, more than 73.8 % of the
households use traditional kitchens whose energy sources are mainly, fire wood, charcoal, yard
and paper wastes. This generates high amounts of ash. Leaves and Grass wastes ranking third
accounted for 19.6% by weight and 11.1 % by volume. Nearly three-fourth of the households
contributed these wastes. Because Wolkite area is one of the
areas which have long range of rainy season, most people plant trees (Coffee and Mango are
common) and garden in their compounds to break wind. Litters of these trees and garden in
addition to grasses during coffee ceremony and “Chat” wastes, significantly increase the
proportion of these wastes. Dust is a major problem of the town which accounts 15.1%
including all floor sweepings. According to the Wolkite town Master Plan Revision project study
2004, the major sources of dust are flooding and soil transportation from near by catchments,
construction of road network, quarrying activities under taken in the town, establishments like
woodworks, shops, coffee processing plants etc, produce dust in their production process.
From Table1 the least solid wastes in terms of weight are Metal, wood and Glass wastes
constituting only 0.3%, 0.4% and 0.5% in weight, respectively. This is because metal can be
reused repeatedly and it can be recycled or remolded to other durable useful materials.
Moreover, plastic, wood and other local materials are replacing most metal furniture’s by now.
Wood waste has high demand for energy production (fuel) in households who use tradition
kitchens. Glass waste was less because it can be reused for many times, besides glass cups and
other utensils are being replaced by plastic one.
Although its magnitude was less, plastic waste is a common problem of more than three-fourth
of the households. Plastic wastes constitute 2.3% by weight and 10.1% by volume of the total
waste generated. Due to its non-decomposability and easily movable by wind, plastic wastes
are found everywhere. Particularly the final disposal site and its surroundings are being
polluted by “Festal” As it is shown in plate5.
The results of this study show that high proportion of the household’s waste (67.3%) is either
recyclable or easily decomposable. Waste from low and middle- income countries contain
fewer paper products and non-food items than waste from industrialized countries. The
composition of solid waste is a key determinant in decisions concerning types of vehicles
needed for collection and transfer, requirements for final disposal, and resource recovery
alternatives (Corrales and Horton, 1995). Increase of food waste in household with increase in
income level is common in less
industrialized countries (Fernandez, 1996).

23
Table2. Household solid waste generation rate of Wolkite Town
Description Low income Middle Income High income
Monthly income (per capita) <500 Birr 500-1000 Birr >1000 Birr
Number of households 118 (85.5%) 13 (9.4%) 7 (5.1%)
Average family size 6.27 4.78 3.89
kg/HH/day 0.18 1.65 3.06
l/HH/day 0.43 3.90 7.24
kg/cap/day 0.20 0.48 0.93
l/cap/day 0.07 1.14 2.20
As shown in Table 2 a house hold generates 0.18 kg/day for low income families, where as
middle income and high income households generate 1.65 kg/day and 3.06 kg/day respectively.
Similarly, per capita generation rate of a person is 0.20 kg/day, 0.48 kg/day and 0.93 kg/day for
low, middle and high in-come, respectively. Regarding the volume of waste, it also follows the
same trend; in low families, a household generates 0.43 l/day whereas middle and high-income
persons generate 3.90 and 7.24 l/day, respectively. This indicates that generation rate has
direct relationship with in-come level. Similar trends were observed in Arada Sub-City Addis
Ababa (Yitayal, 2005), Adama town (Lemma, 2007) and Makurdi-Nigeria (Sha’Ato et al., 2006).

4.3 Socio-Economic conditions

4.3.1 Income of households
The income level of the participating households (138) is illustrated in Table 3. Households were
categorized into three groups depending on their family income. Thus, households who earn
less than 500 birr per month are low income, those who have monthly income between 500
and 1000 Birr (middle income) and households that earn greater than 1000 Birr (High income
group). Accordingly, 118 households (85.5%) are low income, and 13 (9.4%) of the families are
middle income groups. The remaining 7 households (5.1%) were those who have monthly
income of greater than 1000Birr.
Domestic expenditure of households is indirect indication of household’s income level. When
monthly income of a household is distributed to its respective family members, the majority of
households come under low-income level. This is because most households support large family
sizes with limited income. As indicated in Table 3 and 4

Table 3 Average family size of each income level

Status of households Low income Middle Income High Income
Monthly income <500 Birr 500-1000 Birr >1000 Birr
Households 118 13 7
Average Family Size 6.27 4.78 3.89
Economic status of households is one of the major factors which has direct impact on domestic
solid waste generation rate.
4.3.2 Family Size
Table 4. Family size of participating households
Number of Persons No. of Times Percent
1 2 1.5
2 5 3.6

24
3 10 7.2
4 16 11.6
5 24 17.4
6 34 24.6
7 20 14.5
8 13 9.4
9 6 4.3
10 3 2.2
11 2 1.5
12 2 1.5
13 1 0.7
Total 138 100
Table 4 shows family sizes of participating households. Families, with six members accounted
for 34 (24.6%) ranking first, and family size of five accounted for 24 (17.4%) ranking second.
Households of largest family size thirteen have least proportion, 0.7 %. The average family size
is around 5.8 which is slightly higher than that of over all family size of urban population of
Ethiopia 4.6 (CSA, 2001). Sources of energy of most households are wood, charcoal, kerosene,
cow dung, paper, yard trimmings, etc. Electric power for most families is, if they have access to
the services, only for
lighting purpose. This is due to lack of capacity to afford the installation costs and service
charges. Significant number of housing units are not legally registered (illegal houses i.e.
Yechereka Bet), that they can not get direct service from EEPCO. Hence, householders build
their kitchen in such a way that it could serve them with the help of the above mentioned
energy sources. Some even have no kitchen at all. They cook their daily meal on open area at
their home sides or inside their living rooms.
4.3.3 Sources of Energy
Table 5 Sources of energy
Sources No. of times Percent
Electricity, kerosene, charcoal 36 26.2
Electricity, charcoal, wood, paper, cow dung 91 65.9
Wood, dung, yard trimmings 11 7.9
Total 138 100.0
From Table 5, regarding sources of energy, 91 households (65.9%) use Charcoal, wood, dung,
paper and kerosene in addition to electricity for their source of energy. Only (26.2%) use
electricity, kerosene and charcoal. No family depends solely on electric power as its source of
energy. Therefore, ash is common solid waste in the majority of households.
4.4 Onsite Solid Waste handling
Onsite waste handling refers to the activities related to the handling of solid wastes until they
are placed in the containers used for their storage before collection. Depending on the type of
collection service, handling may be required to move the loaded containers to the collection.
Solid Waste Storage Type
104, 76%
20, 14%
7, 5%

25
7, 5%
Trash Bags
Plastic Bags
Others
Not Responded
point and to return the empty containers to the collection point where they are stored between
collections (Tchobanglous et al., 1993). Factors that must be considered in the onsite storage of
solid wastes include type of container, container location, collection methods, frequency of
cleaning houses, etc. Onsite storage is of primary importance of the aesthetic consideration,
public health and economics involved. Unsightly containers and even open ground containers
are undesirable and often seen in residential areas (Tchobanglous et al., 1977).
4.4.1 Solid Waste Storage
Most households 104 (76 %) use Trash bag for their temporary waste storages. This is because
it is longer lasting than plastic bags. Its size also has contribution to its preference and for most
families it accommodates a week round wastes. Moreover, it is
convenient to handle when wastes are transported by carts from houses to containers. Some
households especially who dispose or transfer their wastes to containers themselves use plastic
bags. This accounted for 14.5% (20). The rest 14 households (10%) use other materials such as
baskets, metal buckets, plastic containers and open areas at their home sides, as their
temporary waste storage and others did not respond.
4.4.2 Waste reuse
Table 6. Types of wastes reused
Wastes No. of times Percent
Food wastes (home compost) 5 3.6
Paper, wood, plastics (for fuel) 35 25.4
Cans and bottles (Reused) 71 51.5
Not responded 27 19.5
Total 138 100
Among respondents, 5 households (3.6%) compost or reuse food and vegetable wastes for soil
enrichment for their gardens and horticultures. cans, bottles and other packaging materials are
being reused by 71 households (51.5%) and 35 households (25.4%) reuse paper, wood, plastic
and yard trimmings as fuel (fire wood) (Table 6). This is common in developing countries.

4.4.3 Exchanged or Sold Solid Wastes

Table 7 Exchanged or sold wastes
Waste items No. of times Percent
Cloths 82 59.4
Shoes 11 8.0
Plastic and glass bottles 14 10.1
Not responded 31 22.5
Total 138 100
Similarly, households that sold or exchanged wastes for plastic and other utensils are shown in
Table 7. It is clearly seen that most of the households 82 (59.4%) changed their worn out cloth
wastes for plastic and other utensils to “Lewach” or sold their wastes to Koralew. The remaining

26
households 11 (8.0 %) change or sell their worn out shoes and 14 households (10.1%) have
exchanged or sold plastic and glass bottles. Only 31 households (22.5%) responded that they
never sell or exchange for other materials (Table 7).

4.4.4 Solid waste Combustion (Burning)

According to this study, some households burn their combustible wastes to get rid of
uncollected wastes. Some times, they do so to reduce the volume of the wastes that would
cause them to pay high charges for pre-collections.
Table 8 Solid waste mass burning condition of households
Waste burning No. of times Percent
No 97 70.3
Yes 41 29.7
Total 138 100
As shown in table 8 , 41 households (29.7%) burn part or all of their combustible wastes on
open air as shown on plate 7. 97 households (70.3%) never combust any of their wastes at all.
4.5 Solid Waste collection and Disposal practices
Regarding solid waste collection, households have two options. The first option is that
households themselves take their solid wastes and drop it into a container nearest to their
home. The second option is having contract agreement with micro and small enterprise
associations.33
23.9%
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Households
Households themselves MSE
4.5.1 Pre collection practices
Waste transportation from the town to the disposal site is done by only one truck, which has
maximum capacity of 80m3 a day. Responsible body for the solid waste management of the
town is a section organized under the municipality called “Health and Environmental
sanitation”, which has limited manpower and lacking relevant professionals as well as financial
constraints are bottle neck for SWM. Very recently micro and small scale entrepreneurs started
to engage themselves in solid waste
management. Currently there are 5 groups of mainly young people in door-to-door collection of
solid waste and transporting it to the communal collection containers. The organizations have
25 members and they collect and transport the waste from 1,095 households, hotels and
restaurants (Table 7). The total amount of waste they collect is estimated to be about 10m3 per
day. Despite the interest they have showed in this area of capacity, they are entangled with a
lot of constraints and problems that can not be solved by their efforts alone. These people are
not equipped with the required working tools, working places, financial capacity and skilled

27
manpower. Most of them are working with limited number of people in labor intensive way.
Moreover, they complain that their customers do not recognize their activity as a proper job
and do not pay them regularly. As a result they are found to be discouraged. But the MSE
should be encouraged to change Waste to Wealth by social sectors to create employment in
the town through involving widely in composting and recycling and generate income. In general
possible incentive mechanism for MSE has to be developed

4.5.2 Road access

Due to fast growth in economic activities and constructions, Wolkte town is developing better
main roads. But inner roads are not yet completed. Recent construction activities of all type
roads are not enough to all Kebeles to have access to main roads and other services...

4.5.3 Distance to private waste disposers

Regarding distances, most of the households are far away from the reaching point of the
private car (Table10). Only 18 households (13%) are within the radius of 100 meters, 21 (15.2%)
are found in between 100-200 meters, 24 (17.5%) are found between 201-500 meters. The rest
62 (44.9%) of the households have to move more than 500 meters to reach the container. Even
there are families, 13 (9.4%), who do not know where the car is cited.
Table9. Distances of cars from households.
Distance No. of times Percent
20-50m -- --
51-100m 18 13.0
101-200m 21 15.2
201-500m 24 17.5
>500m 62 44.9
Do not know 13 9.4
Total 138 100.0
According to some surveys estimation, a household should get a container within 200 meters of
his vicinity (Yami, 1999), and one container provides services to a maximum of 2000 people. But
there is no container in wolkite town .

28
5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusion
It is highly recognized that the existing solid waste collection and disposal services are
inadequate both in terms of coverage and sanitary treatment of the waste. The solid waste
collection service coverage is very low which means the major portion of the solid waste
generated with in the city is uncontrolled and improperly disposed which creates unhealthy
environment to live and work in. No condition is available for community and private sector
involvement in re-use, recycle and composting of the waste. But it can create job opportunity
for the unemployed citizens of the town. In general waste management is not considered as
important development sector to meet the goals set in the national and regional policies and
strategies for sustainable development.
The study showed that the household solid waste generation rate of Wolkite town is 0.157
kg/cap/day. For the total population 8 tones domestic solid waste is generated from the town
in a day. Based on this figure the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly generation rate of Wolkite
town will be 8, 56, 240 and 2920 tones respectively. This does not include other municipal solid
waste streams. To have a complete picture on generation rate similar studies should be
conducted on the other waste streams. Concerning the results of the volumes, a household
generates 0.32, 2.24, 9.6 and 116.8
L/cap/day, week, month and year respectively. In addition to this the total volume of solid
waste generated in the town is 50.9, 356.3, 1,527 and 18,578.5m 3 per day, week, month and
year respectively. Waste collection system of the municipality is weak. Particularly door-to-door
collection is inefficient. The truck assigned to this purpose is only one and is very old so that the
coverage is very limited. Moreover, the periphery kebeles are not given due attention. Due to
lack of containers nearby their home or door-to-door waste collection services, they dispose of
wastes at open areas, ditches or riverbanks. The major ways of reducing and disposing of solid
wastes such as source reduction, reuse, recovery, recycling, sanitary landfilling, composting and
incineration were absent, if any were very meager. As a result wastes were most often dumped
on land, in the river or otherwise burned to reduce volume. Attention is not given for Micro and
Small Enterprises , they are not equipped with the necessary protective materials.
There were no awareness raising education and provision to proper training of residents with
regard to residential solid waste management methods in the town. This has aggravated the
waste management problems and challenges thus leading to public health, aesthetic and
ecological concerns. From the study results, large proportion of the waste (more than 67.7%)
can be decomposable organic matter, which might be efficiently recycled or composted.

5.2 Recommendations
As mentioned earlier, waste collection system of the municipality is weak. To improve this, the
following recommendations are given:
_ The municipality has to capacitate “the Health and Environmental Sanitation Section”
with relevant manpower and equipment both qualitatively and quantitatively.
_ The municipality has to buy the car and containers.
_ The municipality has to incite and motivate workers who have direct contact with waste.
_ The municipality has to increase public awareness. Wastes disposed of illegally at any

29
open spaces are not only because of lack of nearby containers or lack of municipal waste
collection services but also due to lack of awareness of the consequences of mismanaged
municipal wastes.
_ From this study results, large proportion of the generated wastes is either compostable or
recyclable or energy can be reclaimed from it. Therefore, the municipality has to reduce a
waste that goes to disposal site through
-Composting wastes. From the study 67.6% of the wastes are easily decomposable
organic matter, indicating large potential for compost making.
-Waste reuse and recycling. Some items can be reused again and again for the same
purpose, or after worn out can be collected and processed again to produce new
product (recycled). Micro and Small Enterprises have to be encouraged. Kebeles are expected
to support them. Here, public awareness has to be done, because some house holders are not
willing to pay for their services. Wolkite town, as it is getting fast growing town and becoming
overpopulated, has to prepare proper waste dump site. Thus based on the generation rate and
composition of solid wastes in Wolkite town integrated solid waste management system which
combines a range of solid waste treatment options like source reduction, composting, recycling
and waste to energy transformation is recommended. In general, if the town administration
improves its effort on municipal waste management system and gives equal attention to all
corners of the town, it will not be very far to see the vision of the town administration
“Beautiful, Clean and Green Wolkite”

30
References
Addis Ababa city Government Sanitation Beautification and Parking development
Agency (AACGSBPDA), (2005). Current status of solid waste management of
Administration of Addis Ababa.
Agresty, A. and Finlay, B. (1986). Statistical Methods for social sciences. 2nd Edn., Dellen
Publishing company, USA, P. 19-25, 105
Baum, B. and Parker, C.H. (1973). Solid Waste Disposal. Reuse/Recycle and Pyrolysis.
Vol.1, Ann Arbor Science and Publishers, Michigan, USA.
Bilitewski B., Hardtle, G., Marek K., Weissback A., and Boeddicker H., (1994). Waste
Management. Springer-Verlag Berline, Germany
Bjerkli, C.L. (2005). The Cycle of Plastic Waste: An Analysis on the informal plastic
recovery system in Addis Ababa. Masters Thesis, Norwegian University of Science and
Technology, Norway.
Botkin, D.B. and Keller, E.A. (1987). Environmental Studies: Earth as a living Planet. 2nd Edn.,
Merrill Publishing Company, USA, P 204-205.
Central Statistics Authority, (2001). Report on the 1999/2000 Household Incomes
Census 2007 Tables: Southern Peoples, Nations and Nationalities Region

Consumption And Expenditure survey (HICE), statistical Bulletin 258 Addis

Ababa.
Chang, S. and Nishat, S. (2005). Integrated Solid waste management for the city of
Greenshoro, NC: A linear programming model. The journal of solid waste Technology and
Management. Vol. 31, No. 4
Development of Wolkite (2010) Report of the Gurage Development Association
Cochran G., (1977). Sampling Techniques, 3rd edition, Wiley Series in productivity and
Applied Mathematical Statistics. New York, USA.
Detailed statistics on hotels and tourism", Bureau of Finance and Economic Development
website (accessed 4 September 2009)
Cointreau, SJ, (1982). Environmental Management of Urban Solid waste in developing
countries Washington DC
Corrales, M. and Horton, N. (1995). Technical support document under the technical
direction of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, Washington DC, USA.
CSA (2001). Report on 1999/2000 Household Income, Consumption and Expenditure
Survey. Vol.258, Addis Ababa.
Dawit Walelign and Alebele Bayrau, (2003). Improvement of solid waste management in
Addis Ababa, a participatory Approach (Draft), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Environmental protection – UK, (2003). Recycling and waste
http/www.defra.org.uk/environment/waste. Date accessed May 2007ESI Africa (2004).
Newsletter, Potential of energy Generation from Urban Waste in Africa, Issue 4/2

31
Ethiopian Village Studies: Imbdibir", Centre for the Study of African Economies (accessed 5 July
2009)
Fernandez, A.L. (1996). Introduction in UNCRD, Recycling in Asia: Partnerships for
Responsive Solid Waste Management, UNCRD Research Report Series No. 21. UNCRD Research,
Nogaya, Japan

Gurage Zone Socio-Economic Profile Gurage Zone Government web page (accessed 4
September 2007)

Hagerty K. joseph, Pavoni Joseph L., Heer, Jr. John E., (1977). Solid waste management

Van Nostrand Reinhold company, New York.

Haug, R.T. (1980). Compost Engineering: Principles and Practices. Ann Arbor Science,
Michigan, USA, P.173-177
Holmes, J.R. (1981). Refuse Recycling and Recovery. John Wiley Sons Ltd, New York,
P 131-135
Hui Y., Li’ao W., Ferwei S., and Guang H. (2006). Urban Solid waste management in
Chenoping: Challenges and opportunities waste management, 26: 1052-1062.
Kirov, N.Y. (Ed.).(1971). Solid Waste Treatment and Disposal. The International Edition of the
1971 Australian Waste Disposal Conference held at the University of New
South Wales. Ann Arbor Science Publishers, Michigan, USA.
Lem Ethiopia, (2006). Study on total waste management of Jimma southern Ethiopia.
Lemma Asfaw, (2007). Household generation rate and composition analyses in Adama
town. A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate studies, Addis Ababa
University.

Local History in Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 19 November 2007)

Mansoor, A. and Cotton, A. (2001). The Sweeping Business: Developing entrepreneurial skills for
the collection of Solid Waste. WEDC Publishers, UK.
Mantell, C.Y. (1975). Solid Wastes: Origin, Collection, Processing and Disposal. John
Willey and Sons Ltd., USA.
Medina, M (1999). Globalization, development, and municipal solid waste Management in The
third world cities; Tijuana, Mexico.
McBean, E.A., Rovers, F.A. and Farguhar, G.J. (1975). Solid Waste Landfill Engineering.
Englewood Cliffs, Printice hall, New Jersey.
Nurconsult (1982). Solid Waste Management in Addis Ababa, Phase II and III. Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia
Pavoni, J.L. Heer, J.E. and Hagerty, D.J. (1975). Handbook of Solid waste Disposal:

32
Materials and Energy Recovery. Van Norstand Reinhold Company, New York, USA.
Perez G.B, Colon S.S, Garmendia M.A. Villareal A.D, and Elena M.S.S., (2001). Solid
waste characterization study in the Guadalajara Metropolitan Zone, Mexico.
Waste Management Research 19: 413-424. Samuel Shimelis, (2006). Commercial solid waste
generation and composition Analysis: Arada Sub-City Addis Ababa. A thesis submitted to the
School of Graduate studies, Addis Ababa University.
Sha’Ato R., Aboho, S.Y., Oketunde, F.O., Enegy, I.S, Unazi, G. and Agwa S, (2007).
Survey of Solid waste generation and composition in a rapidly growing urban area in central
Nigeria waste management 27: 352-358
Stirrup, F.L. (1965). Public Cleansing: Refuse Disposal. Pergamon press Ltd., Oxford,
London.
Stokoe, J. and Teague, E. (1995). Integrated Solid Waste Mangement: A Planing tool kit for solid
waste managers cited at
http//www.usda.gov/rus/water/docs/swmgmt.pdf accessed March, 2007
Taddese Kume, (2004). Dry waste management in Addis Ababa City Submitted to
ecological And Environmental economics program, Addis Ababa Ethiopia.
Tchobanoglous G., Theisen H., and Eliassen R., (1977). Solid waste Engineering principles And
Management Issues McGraw-Hill Kogakush, Tokyo.
Tchonobanglous G., Theisen., and Samuel N., (1993). Integrated Solid Waste Management
Engineering principles and management Issues McGraw – Hill. Singapore.
USEPA (1990). Methods to manage and control Plastic wastes. Executive summary Report to
congress, USA.
USEPA (2003). Municipal Solid Waste in the United States. 2001 Facts and Figures, USA.
Vesilidn, P.A. and Rimer, A.E. (1981). Unit Operations in Resource Recovery Engineering.
Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs,New Jersey, USA
Wells, D. (1996). Environmental Policy: Abnormal Perspective to the Twenty-First Century.
Prentice-Hall, New Jersey, USA.
Workineh Kebede, (2007). Household Solid Waste generation rate and composition
analyses in Injibara Town, Ethiopia. A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate studies, Addis
Ababa University.
World Bank (1999). Technical Guidance Report on Municipal Solid Waste Inciniration.
Washington, D.C.
WWF (2005). Municipal Solid Waste Fact sheet. Pakistan Environmental Prootection.
Yami Birke, (1999). Solid waste Management in Ethiopia Integrated Development for
water Supply and Sanitation Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Yen, I.F. (1975). Recycling and Disposal of Solid Waste: Industrial, Agricultural and
Domestic. Ann Arbor Science Publishers. Michigan, USA.

33
Yitayal Beyene, (2005). Domestic Solid waste quantity and composition analysis in Arada Sub-
City, Addis Ababa, Msc thesis paper, Addis Ababa University.
Zeng, Y., Trauth, K.M., Peyton, R.L. and Banerji, S.K. (2005). Estimation of Solid Waste
Composition using two way stratification and optimum sample size: Theory and a case study.
The Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management. Vol. 31, No. 4
Zurbrugg Christina, (2003). Urban Solid Waste management in low Asia how to cope with the
garbage Crisis, Duebendorf, Switzerland.

34
Annex 1. QUESTIONNAIRE ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA
1. Demographic and social status
1.1 Name of the household head ____________________________________
1.2 Kebele _____________________________ 1.3 House No.___________
1.4 Age ______ 1.5 Sex_________ 1.6 Family size in number___________
1.5 Family income /Month <500, 501-1000, >1000 Birr (Please underline)
1.6 Educational Status of the household head. ______________________
2. Housing Conditions
2.1 House ownership
_ Private ____________
_ Rented ____________
2.2 General Cleanliness of the house (By observation)
_ Dirty ______________
_ Fairly Clean ______________
_ Clean ______________
2.3 Energy availability is
_ Firewood and cow dung ___________________
_ Firewood, cow dung and charcoal ___________________
_ Firewood, charcoal, kerosene, electricity _______________
_ If others specify___________________________________
3. On-site Solid Waste Handling
3.1 How often you clean your house?
_ Every day ________________
_ After two days ________________
_ After three days ________________
_ Others, Specify ________________
3.2 Do you have temporary storage container for generated refuse at home?
Yes _________ No _____________
3.2.1 If yes, what is the container type?
_ Plastic Dust Bin __________________
_ Plastic Bag __________________
_ Paper dust bin __________________
_ Wooden container __________________
_ Others, specify __________________
4. Solid Waste Disposal practices
4.1 Do you reuse household wastes? Yes _________ No ___________
4.1.1 If Yes,

35
Type of reused wastes _______________________________________
Purpose of Reused wastes ____________________________________
4.2 Do you compost wastes? Yes ___________ No _____________
4.2.1 If yes, what type of wastes? _________________________________
4.3 Do you burn (incinerate) household wastes? Yes _________ No _________
4.3.1 If yes what type of wastes? __________________________________
4.3.2 Where do you incinerate?
_ Inside the compound ______________________
_ Outside the compound ____________________
4.4 Do you use open dump as a disposal method? Yes _______ No ______
4.4.1 If yes, where do you dump?
_ Inside the compound ______________________
_ Outside the compound ______________________
4.4.2 What type of waste do you dump? _____________________________
4.4.3 Why you prefer the above time? ___________________________
4.4.4.1 Is there accessible road to the nearest container yes ____ No ___
4.5 Do you dump solid waste in to the river? Yes __________ No ________
4.5.1 If yes, why? _____________________________________________
4.6 Do you sell wastes? Yes _______ No _________
4.6.1 If yes, what type of wastes do you commonly sell?
o Plastics ____________
o Metals ____________
o Papers ____________
o Leaves and grasses _______
o Others Specify ________________________________________
4.6.2 For whom do you sell wastes?
o Korales ___________________________
o Formal recycling centers _____________
o Others Specify ___________________
4.7 Do you have contractual agreement with Micro and small Enterprises who
Collect and transport wastes to containers? Yes ________ No _______
4.7.1 If yes how much do you pay them monthly? ____________ Birr.
5. Is the existing waste management of the municipality satisfactory?
Yes ______________ No __________
5.1.1 If no, what measures do you think should be taken to improve? ___________
______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________.
6. If you have any suggestion about controlling of MSW of Wolkite Town _____________

36
______________________________________________________________________________

Annex 2. CHECK LIST ABOUT WOLKITE TOWN.

1. Is there municipality service for managing the MSW? Yes _______ No ______
1.1 If yes, specify the department ____________________________________
2. How many landfill sites Wolkite town have? __________
3. How far are/is the landfill site(s) from the town in km? ________. Is the landfill site
protected (Fenced etc…) ____________________________________________
4. Are there street cleaning organizations in the town which are organized by the
municipality? Yes _________ No ____________
4.1 If yes, their number. Male ______ Female ______ Total ______
5. Are their Micro Enterprises organized in the town for collecting solid waste?
Yes ____________ No______________
If yes, Please list names of MSE and their numbers;
Name of MSE Male Female Total Kebele
A. ________________________ ____ _____ _____ ________
B. ________________________ ____ _____ _____ _________
C. ________________________ ____ _____ _____ _________
Total _____ _____ _____
6. How many lifting tracks Wolkite town have? ___________ Is it functioning by now?
Yes _______ No ____________
6.1 If No, what means does the municipality use? _____________________________
_______________________________________
6.2 Are there NGOs or any organization who support the municipality to control or
to lift solid waste ?___________________________________________________
7. Dust bin availability of the town in each Kebele
Total __________
Each Kebele _____
8. Is there a river crossing the town? Yes ______ No ________
8.1 If yes, is any controlling mechanism that people not to dump in it? ________
_______________________________________________________________
9. What types of solid wastes are common in
Dry season ____________________________________________
Rainy season __________________________________________
10. Does the municipality practiced to create awareness about SW and its positive and
negative consequences to the community?______________________________
11. What actions does the municipality take on individuals who improperly dispose
waste?________________________________________________________________________

37
___________________________________________________________
12. Do you think existing financial, technical, material and manpower support for the control of
MSW of Wolkite town satisfactory? Yes ____________ No ____________
13. If no, in your opinion, what must be done to improve solid waste management of
Wolkite Town? _________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________.

38