ASSESSMENT OF DOMESTIC SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN RURAL DISTRICT SERVICE CENTRES: THE CASE OF NGANGU RESIDENTIAL AREA IN CHIMANIMANI DISTRICT, ZIMBABWE

摘要

Assessment of waste management systems of district service centres has not been widely done in developing countries both at regional and national level. This creates a knowledge gap as issues of waste management at such levels remain veiled in obscurity. Moreover, it leaves the local sanitation authorities with largely weak value chains that provide inefficient services to the local residents as they remain uninformed. In this study, we assessed the effectiveness of the generation, storage, collection, transportation and disposal of domestic solid waste at district service centre level. A case study approach was used to enable an empirical inquiry that investigates the contemporary phenomenon within its real life extent. A stratified random sampling procedure was followed to select 120 households that participated in the survey. Questionnaire surveys, focus group discussions and interviews were used to infer data from the selected participants. Results show that the local authority runs a closed waste management system devoid of local policy. It is characterised by uncontrolled waste generation, highly ineffective storage facilities, ineffective collection system and inefficient transportation and disposal mechanisms. There is need for the re-engineering of the waste management system and adoption of an integrated approach which incorporates a participatory approach to the management of domestic solid wastes.