Solid Waste Management in Lusaka's Soweto Market
Date
2015-06-09
Authors
Ndashe, Kapulu
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Abstract
Solid waste management is very important if we are to preserve the environment in which we live or carryout our daily activities. For sustainable development to be effective a compromise has to be reached between the affected and the infected, in this case the environment. But for this to be effectively achieved community participation should be encouraged in keeping the environment clean. To do this effectively, knowledge of what value the environment has is inevitable. And so how well the people are informed will determine the results obtained at the end of the day.The quality of waste management depends on the resources; for example, human, financial, and material; time allocated for carrying out the task; and the efficiency of the resource use. The point to which the situation is left to degenerate is not just a matter of technique and money. It also depends how the community considers issue of solid waste to be a problem. If waste management is not viewed as a major issue in the community, especially during economic hardships there is likely to be no driving force for maintaining management standards and even less for improving them.The perception and attitude of the community towards the issue of waste management must first be assessed before putting in place a waste management plan that will be sustainable. The community must conceptualize the relationship between waste and its undesirable effects if it is not collected and disposed properly. This can be measured by determining the degree of knowledge the community has on a series of specific aspects of the relationship. Such aspects can be for example the definition people give to waste, the knowledge that uncollected waste represents a hazard, the identification of links between the presence of waste in the environment and major hazards.The level of awareness of the actual situation in an area can be translated by, the perception of individuals on the cleanliness of an area or city, the knowledge and perception of the service offered in waste collection and disposal. These facets can be used to establish the scope of the study and the direction a particular research will take.The same has been done in the case of Soweto Market by looking at the ability of respondents to define waste, prioritize waste as a problem, and also be able to come up with suggestions centering on encouraging community participation in solid waste management.
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Refuse and Refuse disposal-Zambia , Municipal Services-Lusaka,Zambia