Assessment of sustainability of solid waste management- case study of kaptemwo informal settlement in Nakuru town, kenya

Abstract

Waste generation is an unavoidable product of man’s activities however, sustainable management of such waste is a challenge faced in many countries today. Nakuru town has been in a quandary of how to efficiently manage the municipal solid waste its population generates. Many big towns in Kenya lack adequate plans and infrastructure required for efficient and sustainable management of solid waste. For kaptemwo settlement, the most populated settlement in nakuru town. Inthis research kaptemwo was taken as a case study because it is the most populated settlement in nakuru town and its increasing population. The research adopted a social inquiry design where a structured questionnaire was administered to households. Observation and oral interviews were also carried out. The unit of analysis was the households selected in four estates. The selection of the household units for data collection was based on simple random sampling. The data was analysed using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) computer software and results are presented using tables and pie charts. Following the call of ISWM plan in nakuru county, the possible options for sustainable management of solid waste in kaptemwo settlement are discussed. it was concluded that public participation, waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting are potential management options for achieving sustainability management of solid waste in the settlement. Landfilling will remain an important option for final disposal but reliance on this method could be significantly reduced if management options are exploited to the maximum in a sustainable solidwaste management structure. Keywords: Nakuru,sustainable management, municipal solid waste, households, settlements, disposal.