Local Government Capacity for Solid Waste Collection in Local Markets in Tanzania

Abstract

Solid waste collection is one of the roles of municipal councils in Tanzania stipulated by the local government Act of 1982. This study empirically examined the capacity of Morogoro Municipal Council in collecting solid waste generated from the two market centers of Mawenzi and Manzese. The study employed case study design and mixed research approaches of qualitative and quantitative. The data collection methods were in-depth interviews and questionnaire. The data obtained in this study were subjected to interpretative and content analysis for qualitative data and descriptive statistics for quantitative data. Findings revealed that the most dominant type of waste generated in the two markets were the biodegradable wastes generated from natural products such as vegetables, fruits and food remains in general. More findings show that the process of solid waste management needed the resources of different types including financial resources, physical resources and human resources. It was found that Morogoro Municipal Council had inadequate resources to manage the amounts of the generated wastes in the two markets. To improve capacity of collecting solid waste in the two markets the study recommends increasing number of staff, vehicles and containers for waste collection, increase budget for solid waste collection and collect the waste frequently according to the accumulation of waste.