Assessment of solid waste management practices in Bor town, south Sudan

Abstract

In South Sudan like in many other developing countries, one to two thirds of the solid waste generated is not collected. There is a great problem in the household’ management of solid wastes in the rapid growing town of Bor in South Sudan. This study sought to generate information on solid waste handling practices, which could provide appropriate data that can be used to come up with strategies for managing solid waste. The research focussed on 384 respondents in Bor Town in order to assess the types and sources of solid waste generated, determine knowledge levels, practices and attitudes of people toward solid waste management (SWM) as well as factors and challenges faced in SWM in Bor town. The research instruments were pilot tested to determine the reliability of the instrument in Juba town, Central Equatoria State. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation were used to analyse the data. This study found that the major types of solid wastes generated in Bor town include plastic (41%), organic waste (29%) and papers (15%) which were obtained from places of residence, commercial, agricultural fields, institutions and construction sites. Open dumping (62.4) and burning (34.7%) were the most popular method of solid waste disposal. This study recommends that since some of the solid waste generated can be recycled (metals, glass, plastic), efforts should be made to link up with agencies dealing with waste recycling. The government/municipal council should launch a widespread awareness campaign to deal with the negative perceptions and low knowledge of the community toward solid waste disposal methods. Government efforts to build more waste disposal sites in the study area should be supported and necessary budget allocated and also to ensure to improve road infrastructure in the area to support easier waste disposal.