Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association

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Municipal solid waste generation and disposal in

Robe town, Ethiopia

Duguma Erasu, Tesfaye Feye, Amaha Kiros & Abel Balew

To cite this article: Duguma Erasu, Tesfaye Feye, Amaha Kiros & Abel Balew (2018) Municipal
solid waste generation and disposal in Robe town, Ethiopia, Journal of the Air & Waste
Management Association, 68:12, 1391-1397, DOI: 10.1080/10962247.2018.1467351

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2018.1467351

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JOURNAL OF THE AIR & WASTE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
2018, VOL. 68, NO. 12, 1391–1397
https://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2018.1467351

TECHNICAL PAPER

Municipal solid waste generation and disposal in Robe town, Ethiopia

Duguma Erasua, Tesfaye Feyea, Amaha Kirosb, and Abel Balewa
a
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Madda Walabu University, Bale Robe, Ethiopia; bDepartment of Geography and
Environmental Studies, Axum University, Axum, Ethiopia

ABSTRACT PAPER HISTORY

The amount of solid waste generated in developing countries is rising over time due to economic Received December 6, 2017
growth, change inconsumer behavior, and lifestyles of people. But it is hard to manage and handle the Revised April 17, 2018
increase of solid waste with existing waste management infrastructure. Thus, the management system of Accepted April 17, 2018
solid waste is very poor and has become a serious problem. The main purpose of this study is to quantify
the volume of solid waste generated and investigate factors affecting generation and disposal of wastes
in the study area. The result of this study indicated that total waste generated from households was
about 97.092 kg/day. Furthermore, the study reveals that the solid waste generation rate of the town is
0.261 kg/person/day. About 57.5% of solid waste is properly disposed of to a landfill site, whereas the
remaining 42.5% is illegally dumped at the roadsides and open fields.
Implications: Nowadays, in developing countries there is a high concentration of people in urban
areas, causing the generation of an enormous concentration of municipal waste in urban areas.
Therefore this study’s findings will be important for various policymakers and town planners. This may
also serve as a benchmark for the municipal authorities of the town for whom the problem is still invisible
and negligible and can push environmental protection authorities to reexamine the implementation of
their policies and strategies with regard to the broader issues of human and environmental health
conditions of town dwellers.

Introduction
Urbanization has been increasing in speed and scale in is collected, and 95% of that amount is indiscriminately
recent decades, with more than half the world’s popula- thrown away at various dumping sites on the periphery of
tion now living in urban center. At present, 54% of the urban centers, typically empty lots scattered throughout the
world population lives in urban areas, and this is estimated city (Nigatu, Rajan, and Bizunesh 2011; Tewodros, Ruijs,
to increase up to 66% or more by 2050, while the world and Hagos 2008). The main problem of waste management
population is expected to add 2.5 billion people to the in the African context is, however, not only brought about
urban population (United Nations 2014). Fast urban by the amount of waste accumulated in the cities but also
population growth has resulted in several land use and the incapability of the governments and waste management
infrastructural challenges, including municipal solid waste authorities to cope with the scope of the problem itself.
management. Increasing population levels, thriving econ- Tanzania, for example, is faced with major problems of
omy, rapid urbanization, and the rise in community living solid waste management with estimation of 30–50% of
standards have greatly accelerated the municipal solid waste being left uncollected (Onibokun et al. 1999). In
waste generation rate in developing countries (Minghua estimates for the capital city of Dar-es-Salaam, out of 3976
et al. 2009). tons of solid wastes generated each day only 1440 tons is
Currently, municipal solid waste is increasing in both collected and sent to a landfill for disposal. In addition,
quantity and composition throughout the world (Ma and approximately more than 70% of the daily waste generated
Hipel 2016). Many of the world cities are generating an is left near the houses, on the streets, in markets, or in
ever-increasing amount of waste, and the effectiveness of drainage channels (Onibokun et al. 1999). In Kenya, the
their solid waste collection and disposal systems is declining capital city of Nairobi, solid waste generation ranges from
(EMEGHSHW, 2013). In urban centers throughout about 800 to 1000 tons per day. But the city municipality
African regions, less than half of the solid waste produced has a capacity of collecting only 400 tons daily. Likewise, in

CONTACT Duguma Erasu dhuguma12@gmail.com Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Madda Walabu University, PO Box 247,
Bale Robe, Ethiopia.
© 2018 A&WMA
1392 D. ERASU ET AL.

Malindi, a secondary large town in Kenya, estimates for of the core branches of philosophy and is concerned with
1991 indicate that less than 21% of waste generated reached the theory of knowledge. Epistemology affords a philoso-
the dumping sites. A parallel situation is also observed in phical background for deciding what kinds of knowledge
Kinshasa, which is the capital and largest city of the are legitimate and adequate (Gray, 2004). Among the
Democratic Republic of Congo, where waste is only col- three epistemological positions (objectivism, constructi-
lected in a minority of households, while in the rest of the vism, and subjectivism), this study employed objectivism
city it is left scattered, as in the case of Dar-es-Salaam and constructivism from the ontology of being. The posi-
(Onibokun et al. 1999). tion of objectivist reality is that reality exists in the exter-
Several studies have been conducted on municipal nal world independently of human consciousness and this
solid waste management in many cities of developing reality is single (Gray, 2004;Knox, 2004). The theoretical
countries, such as Ethiopia, where waste management is perspective closely linked to objectivism that is adapted
insignificant and waste is dumped along roadsides and in for this study is positivism. This is because positivism is
open areas, threatening health and attracting vermin and congruent with objectivism. The process of research in
posing a serious threat to the environment (Pin-Jing positivism is deductive, which focuses on testing theory
2012; Onibokun et al. 1999; Tewodros, Ruijs, and (Creswell, 2009; Creswell & Piano Clark, 2011; Gray,
Hagos 2008). Unlike in the developed world, dumping 2004). This process of research is, therefore, strongly
in open areas, roadsides, and valleys has been widely used associated with a quantitative research approach, in
in many cities of developing countries (Taewodros, which a linear regression model was applied to measure
Ruijs, and Hagos 2008). the determinants and factors affecting the amount of solid
In the Ethiopian perspective, the key intention of most waste generated and its disposal in Robe town.
of the investigations conducted so far on this broad The position of constructivists about truth and reality in
agenda focuses on the effectiveness and efficiency of an the social world is that realities do not exist in the external
already established system of the municipal solid waste world; rather, they are created by the subject’s interactions
management system. The researchers strongly believe with the world where we live and work, and realities are
that municipal solid waste management as a sector is a multiple (Creswell, 2009; Gray, 2004; 2009). Consequently,
highly neglected sector in Robe town. Numbers of urban meaning is constructed, not discovered (Creswell, 2009).
dwellers in Robe town are rapidly increasing over time. Therefore, the goal of the the researcher is investigating the
Urbanization and population concentration in Robe town socially and culturally influenced multiple views of research
are increasing at a rate of 6%, which is more than the participants and the process of interaction among indivi-
regional average of 4.2%. This rapid increase of urban duals (Creswell, 2009; Creswell & Piano Clark, 2011). A
population accelerates solid waste generation in the town. theoretical perspective closely linked with constructivism is
Therefore, the primary objective of the study was to phenomenology. Phenomenology holds that any attempt to
examine municipal solid waste generation and disposal understand social reality has to be grounded in people’s
systems, as well as factors that determine the solid waste experiences of that social reality (Gray, 2004). The inductive
generation and disposal, in Robe town. process of research is a bottom-up process that focuses on
generating theory through interconnecting broader themes
developed from multiple views of participants (Chen et al.
Materials and methods 2011; Creswell & Piano Clark, 2011). This process of
research is associated with a qualitative research approach.
Philosophical foundation of the study
Therefore, the perception, values, and attitude of house-
In any study, there is a need to clearly set up the philoso- holds with respect to municipal solid waste were studied
phical foundation of the research, ontology, epistemology, using this method.
and theoretical perspective prior to selecting a methodol-
ogy. Ontology is the beginning point of any research, after
Description of study area
which the epistemology and methodological position
logically flow. Ontology is the study the nature of exis- The study was conducted in Robe town, located in
tence of reality and its characteristics (Creswell, 2007). South Eastern Ethiopia. Robe town is located about
From two contrasting ontological traditions (ontology of 430 km to the southeast of the national capital, Addis
being and ontology of becoming) this study employed the Ababa. The total area of the town is 8024 km2. Robe
“being” ontology. In this form of ontology, the reality is town is located at 07°08’00”N and 40°00’00”E.
seen as being composed of clearly formed entities with Population size of the town, according to CSA (2007),
identifiable properties and represented by symbols, was about 54,337. After a period of 8 years from the
words, and concepts (Gray, 2004). Epistemology is one CSA report, the population size of the town has shown
 JOURNAL OF THE AIR & WASTE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION 1393

a drastic change so that now it is estimated to be Data analysis technique

73,859. According to the national survey made by
Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were
CSA in 2007, the total number of households in Robe
employed to analyze municipal solid waste generation and
town is about 13,471. The town is divided into three
disposal conditions. Qualitative data were analyzed in a
administrative kebeles, namely, Oda Robe, Beha Biftu,
descriptive way, while quantitative data were analyzed
and Chefe Donsa, consisting of about 5351, 2172, and
using linear regressions. Linear regression was used to
5948 households, respectively. Generally, the town is
analyze determinants of solid waste generation and factors
growing at an alarming rate of 6% per year, far more
responsible for proper disposal of solid waste in Robe town.
than the national average growth rate of 4.2% per year
Linear regression was also used to show the relationship
(Oromia Planning Bureau, 2016). Robe town is the
between dependent variables and independent variables.
administrative center of Bale Zone, which is one of
Furthermore, tables and percentages were used in the ana-
the geographically largest, most economically signifi-
lysis technique.
cant, and most climatically conducive zones in
Ethiopia. Currently, the town is serving as a center for
Results and discussion
numerous governmental and nongovernmental institu-
tions. The combined effect of the economic and ecolo- General background of respondents
gical importance of the town is attracting more people
Table 1 illustrates the general characteristics of the respon-
from different areas of the country (see Table 3).
dents. Of the total respondents, 35% (130) were male and
the remaining 65% (242) were female. Most of the respon-
dents were female, as solid waste management encourages
Research design, sampling, and data collection the participation of females.
As far as the education level of respondents is concerned,
A mixed research approach was used for this study
most of the respondents (34%) had no formal education,
since effective research on municipal solid waste gen-
and 66% of respondents acquire some level of formal school
eration and disposal makes use of both quantitative
education: 19.1% attended primary school, 17.2% attended
and qualitative research approaches on the bases of
secondary school, 11.3% had a diploma, and 18.3% had a
quantitative and qualitative philosophical foundations
degree and above. The average age of households was 43.15
of research, respectively. Two stages of sampling
years with standard deviation 10.481. The average family
techniques were used to select sample households.
size of households was 5.14 and the standard deviation was
in the first stage, Oda Robe Kebele from Robe town
3.33. Regarding job categories, 29% of the respondents were
was purposively selected. In the second stage, 372
government employees, and 71% were self-employed.
households were selected from 13,471 households of
the town using a systematic sampling technique. To
determine the representative sample sizes for the Factors affecting solid waste generation in Robe
total target population of this study, researchers town
used the formula designed by Yemane (1967).
According to Yemane, having a confidence level of Solid waste generation varies in different countries, cities,
95% with a sampling error of 5%, the sample size n is and municipalities, in developing countries. One important
determined as follows:
Table 1. General background of sample households (N = 372).
N Characteristics Value
n¼ (1) Gender (%)
1 þ NðeÞ2 Male 35
Female 65
Age (years)
5351 Mean 43.15
¼ 372 SD 10.481
1 þ 5351ð0:05Þ2 Education (%)
No formal education 34.1
Primary 19.1
where N is total households. Secondary 17.2
A formal sample survey used to be used to collect diploma 11.3
Degree and above 18.3
primary data for the study. Therefore, a structured and Family size (number)
unstructured questionnaire was used to collect primary Mean 5.14
SD 3.33
data from urban households. Observation and inter- Job categories (type)
view were also used to collect complementary data. Employee 29
Private 71
1394 D. ERASU ET AL.

requirement in waste management is the provision of a y ¼ 52:8  12:96X1 þ 0:14X2  17:4X3 þ 4:4X4
record of waste generation in terms of quantity and com-  12:46X5  3:275X6 (3)
position (Cheru 2010). This enables the management to
deal better with the amount and the various categories of Female respondents change the amount of solid waste
waste provided. However, it is difficult to get waste genera- generated by −12.963 times compared to males. This indi-
tion statistics in quantities, as well as composition, for all the cates that female households provide lower waste by a factor
countries including Ethiopia. of 12.963 versus that of the males (if other factors remain
The study indicated that about 97.092 kg of solid waste is constant, it can be expressed as Y ¼ 52:8  12:96 sex).
generated daily from the town. The result of the study For a 1-unit change in average income level, solid waste
further indicates that the generation rate of the town was generated is increased by 0.014 units (1 unit change in x2
estimated to be 0.261 kg/person/day. Furthermore, the causes 0.14 unit change in y). If a household lives in a
study shows that out of the total solid waste generated in private house, waste generated decreased by 17.423 units.
the town, only 57.5% is properly disposed to the landfill site, Similarly, as family size increased by 1 unit, the amount
whereas the remaining 42.5% is illegally dumped at the of solid waste generated increased by 4.43 units, so a 1-unit
roadsides and in open fields and stormwater drainage change in X4 changes the dependent variable (Y) by 4.43
canals. units. If respondents reuse and recycling of solid waste
Some scholars have recognized factors influencing the (SW) increases by 1 unit, the amount of solid waste is
principles of the waste management systems. According to reduced by −12.461 units. And finally, when respondents
Sujauddin, Sm, and Hoque (2008), cited in Guerrero, Maas, know about compost preparation, the total solid waste
and Hogland (2013), the generation of waste is influenced generated from individual households is decreased by
by family size, education level, and monthly income. −3.275 units.
Shekdar (2009) suggests that the quantity of solid waste
generated is lower in countries with lower gross domestic Determining factor of proper disposal of solid
product (GDP). Table 2 analyzes factors affecting solid wastes in Robe town
waste generation, using a linear regression model.
As illustrated in Table 2, R2 is 0.78, which indicates Tewdeos, Ruijs, and Hagos (2008) analyzed the factors that
that 78% of the variation independent variable (solid influence household waste disposal decision making.
waste generation) explains the variation in the indepen- Results showed that the supply of waste facilities signifi-
dent variables. But the remaining 22% of total variation cantly affects waste disposal choice. Inadequate supply of
in solid waste generation is unexplained. This means waste containers and longer distance to these containers
that 78% of total variation in the dependent variable is increase the probability of waste dumping in open areas
explained by the variables in the equation (sex, levels of and roadsides relative to the use of communal containers.
income, house ownership condition, family size, and Insufficient financial resources limiting the safe disposal of
reuse and recycling and knowledge of compost pre- waste in well-equipped and engineered landfills and
paration). The result reveals that the explanatory vari- absence of legislation are mentioned by Pokhrel and
ables are strongly correlated with the dependent Viraraghavan (2005).
variable. Thus, as indicated in the table, the p values From Table 4, R-squared is 0.717, which indicates that
of six independent variables are less than 0.05 (p < 0.05) 71.2% of total variation in the dependent variable is
and we can conclude that the overall model is statisti- explained by independent variable in the equation. The
cally significant and the independent variables have a remaining 28.8% of total variation solid waste disposal is
combined effect on the dependent variable. unexplained. This means that 71.2% of the variation in the
Therefore, based, on the regression coefficients of dependent variable (solid waste disposal) is explained by
dependent and independent variables the equation can independent variables such as access to training, munici-
be written as follows: pality supervising, average income, accessibility to the
small-scale enterprise, participation in cleanup campaign,
Y ¼ A þ B1 X1 þ B2 X2 þ B3 X3 þ B4 X4 þ B5 X5 and the level of education and awareness of respondents.
þ B6 X6 (2) There are seven explanatory variables (Table 5) that
are considered in this study:
Table 2. Coefficient of determination of solid wastes. YSWD ¼ BO þ B1 X1 þ B2 X2 þ . . . þ B7 X7 (4)
Change statistics
R Adjusted R R2 F Sig. F
R squared squared change change change where YSWD is the disposal of solid wastes, and
.885 0.783 0.780 0.783 216.793 0.000 X1 ; X2: . . . :X7 are explanatory variables indicated in
 JOURNAL OF THE AIR & WASTE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION 1395

Table 3. Coefficients of variables that determine the generation of municipal solid waste in Robe town.
Unstandardized coefficients Standardized coefficients 95% Confidence interval for B
Model B Std. error Beta t Sig. Lower bound Upper bound
(Constant) 52.814 2.503 21.097 .000 47.891 57.737
Sex(x1) −12.963 1.608 −.272 −8.063 .000 −16.125 −9.801
Average Income(x2) .014 .001 .575 16.814 .000 .012 .016
House Ownership(x3) −17.423 1.284 −.408 −13.567 .000 −19.949 −14.898
Family Size(x4) 4.430 .814 .144 5.442 .000 2.829 6.031
Reuse/ Recycle (x5) −12.461 1.301 −.261 −9.580 .000 −15.019 −9.903
Composting(x6) −3.275 1.198 −.072 −2.733 .007 −5.632 −.918

Table 4. B1; ; B2; B2 . . .7 are estimated regression coeffi- −2.384 (YSWD ¼ 16:94  2:384 7:6X4 ) units, respec-
cients associated with the explanatory variable. B0 is tively. Another factor that affects the proper disposal of
constant (error estimates). Thus, the linear regression SW is the participation of households in the cleaning up
model depicts the disposal of solid wastes in the study campaign. Participating in the cleaning up campaign is
estimated as a function of increasing the proper disposal of SW by 7.6
(YSWD ¼ 16:94 þ 7:6 7:6X7 ) units compared to nonpar-
y ¼ 16:940 þ 3:019X1 þ 0:015X2  1:677X3 ticipant groups (Table 3).
 2:384X4 þ 6:573X5  20:199X6 þ 7:6X7 (5) The results of the study revealed that about 42.5% of
respondents illegally dispose of solid wastes into a
The effect of each independent variable on the depen- different environment. The major reasons behind this
dent variable (solid waste disposal) is described by using illegal disposal of solid waste of residents are a lack of
an unstandardized beta coefficient. Thus, unstandar- commitment and clear and adequate awareness as well
dized beta coefficients illustrated that any change in an as training about a proper solid waste management
independent variable can bring change in the dependent system. Furthermore, there is a lack of door-to-door
variable by their individual coefficients. Accordingly, a solid waste collection service, and absence of public
1-unit change in education levels of respondents changes solid waste containers. According to information
total solid average waste properly dumped by 3.019 units obtained from respondents, 55.1% of the town residents
(YSWD ¼ 16:94 þ 3:019 7:6X1 ). The more educated did not have awareness of rules and regulations of solid
households are, the higher the waste disposal will be. waste management and its consequences on environ-
This result indicates a 1-unit change in educational level ment and health. For instance, illegal solid waste dis-
will bring 3.019 unit changes in the independent vari- posal by residents also closed and damaged drainage
able. Similarly, a 1-unit change in average income levels systems and forced liquid waste to stand on street sides.
changes the dependent variable 0.015 units It also pollutes the air, water, and soil, and the combi-
(YSWD ¼ 16:94 þ 0:015 7:6X2 inc). Lack of awareness nation of these may affect the beauty of the town and
and training decreases the amount of SW properly dis- bring health problems. A study conducted by Alie in
posed of by −1.667 (YSWD ¼ 16:94  1:66 7:6X3 ) and 2015 revealed that in Dassie town 76% of solid waste
generated in the town is not properly dumped.
Table 4. Coefficient of determination of linear regression ana- Similarly, research conducted by Bizatu in 2008
lysis of solid waste disposal. revealed that about 66% of solid waste in Kersa town
R Adjusted Change statistics is dumped in open space. A study conducted by
R square R square R2 change F change Sig. F change Mengistu and Assegid in 2014 also shows that in
0.847 0.717 0.712 0.717 130.141 0.000 Adama town about 65% of households had no training
on the method of handling solid wastes.

Table 5. Linear regression result of factors determine municipal solid disposed in Robe town).
Unstandardized 95% Confidence interval for Collinearity
coefficients Standardized coefficients B statistics
Model B Std. error Beta t Sig. Lower bound Upper bound Tolerance VIF
(constant) 16.940 2.387 7.095 .000 12.245 21.635
Level of education (X1) 3.019 .511 .226 5.903 .000 2.013 4.025 .538 1.859
Average income (X2) .015 .001 .676 20.552 .000 .013 .016 .728 1.374
Awareness (X3) −1.677 .529 −.100 −3.173 .002 −2.716 −.638 .792 1.262
Accessibility of training (X4) −2.384 1.419 −.053 −1.680 .004 −5.174 .406 .801 1.248
Municipal supervision (X5) 6.573 1.349 .149 4.872 .000 3.920 9.226 .844 1.184
Accessibility to MSE (x6) −20.199 1.436 −.489 −14.068 .000 −23.023 −17.376 .653 1.532
Participation on cleanup campaign (x7) 7.600 1.348 .189 5.638 .000 4.949 10.251 .702 1.425
1396 D. ERASU ET AL.

Table 6. current condition of Robe town municipal solid waste of solid waste generation and disposal of Robe town, the
practices. municipality must strongly work on waste reduction mea-
Current condition of MSW practice Frequency Percent sures like reducing, recycling, reusing, and composting. The
Satisfactory 10 2.7 municipality has to deliver to fill the gap trainings on how
Fair 99 26.6
Unsatisfactory 263 70.7 to separate wastes by their composition. Thus, the munici-
Very unsatisfactory 113 30.4 pality must deliver training to raise the awareness of house-
Total 372 100.0
holds. There is no appropriate landfill site for solid waste
management. Accordingly, the municipality must think
Table 7. Effort made by municipality to provide municipal solid about and build a well-standardized landfill enabled to
waste management (SWM) services in Robe town. control leachate material and gasses outgoing from the site.
Efforts made by municipality to provide efficient
SWM services Frequency Percent
Very weak 218 58.6
Weak 77 20.7 Acknowledgment
Fair 65 17.5
Strong 12 3.2 The authors are appreciative of the Robe town administrative
Total 372 100.0 bodies and town municipal authorities, town beautification
office, and Robe town administrators for their collaboration
and providing permission to carry out this study.
The result of this study indicates that in Robe town about
40.3% of households were unsatisfied and 30.4% of house-
holds were very unsatisfied with the current condition of Funding
municipal solid waste management (MSWM) practice in The research and technology transfer directorate office of
Robe town. Madda Walabu University provided financial assistance to
Generally, about 70.7% of households were not satis- the authors of this study.
fied with current MSWM practice. Similarly, 58.6% of
households regarded efforts made by the municipality to
provide efficient SWM service as very weak. This weak About the authors
waste management service in the study areas resulted
Duguma Erasu, Department of Geography and
from weak municipal waste management efforts and Environmental Studies, Madda Walabu University, Bale
absence of supervision from municipal offices, shortage Robe, Ethiopia.
of budget, the absence of responsibility at each level in
communities and institution, and limited access to train- Tesfaye Feye, Department of Geography and Environmental
ing and community participation in solid waste manage- Studies, Madda Walabu University, Bale Robe, Ethiopia.
ment service and low coordination of stakeholders. Amaha Kiros, Department of Geography and Environmental
Studies, Axum University, Axum, Ethiopia.
Conclusion and recommendation Abel Balew, Department of Geography and Environmental
The results of the study illustrated that the amount of solid Studies, Madda Walabu University, Bale Robe, Ethiopia.
waste generated from that town is high, which is estimated
to be about 97.092 kg/day, and the generation rate of the
town is 0.0261 kg/person/day. In the results of this study, References
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