Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jan 3;11(2):e41699.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e41699. eCollection 2025 Jan 30.

Firsthand report on solid waste management practice in the major town of Addis Ababa-Adama economic corridor, Ethiopia

Shimelis Kebede Kassahun  1 , Berhanu Assefa  1 , Kristina Henzler  2 , Julia Weißert  2 , Martin Oteng-Ababio  3 , Mahelet Admassu  1 , Ikram Mohammed-Amin  1 , Genanew Tesfahun  1
Affiliations

Firsthand report on solid waste management practice in the major town of Addis Ababa-Adama economic corridor, Ethiopia

Shimelis Kebede Kassahun et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Rapid population growth and economic development in Ethiopia have led to increased solid waste generation due to heightened consumption and a throwaway mentality. This has resulted in overcrowding, informal settlements, poor waste management, public health concerns, and environmental issues. Collecting accurate data on solid waste generation and composition in Ethiopia is challenging because of its limited scope and inconsistencies across the country. This assessment focuses on evaluating solid waste generation and composition in households, commercial establishments, and institutions located in the Addis Ababa-Adama corridor in the Oromia province. The research adopted a cross-sectional descriptive survey design, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative approaches to collect data the solid waste generation rates and composition from major sectors such as households, institutions, and commercial activities. The average generation rates of solid waste per household in the three towns were estimated to be 0.21 ± 0.10, 0.31 ± 0.19, and 0.19 ± 0.13 kg/day/person for Dukem, Bishoftu, and Mojo, respectively. Individuals with higher income levels produced higher amounts of solid waste per person. The average daily waste generation rate in the commercial sector was estimated to be 4.97 kg/day for Dukem, 38.34 kg/day for Bishoftu, and 3.29 kg/day for Mojo. Waste composition analyses revealed that the majority of waste generated was organic waste, with 65 %-69.5 %. A high fraction of organics in municipal solid waste (MSW) offers several advantages, including the production of biogas and compost. Small and medium enterprises are primarily responsible for waste collection, with collection efficiencies estimated at 70 %, 46 %, and 63.2 % for Bishoftu, Dukem, and Mojo, respectively. Uncollected waste ends up in open dumps or is burned.

Keywords: Management practice; Recycling; Solid waste; Waste composition; Waste generation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Map of the study area (source: own elaboration).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Daily household solid waste generation rate with population income status (source: own elaboration).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Percentage composition of municipal solid waste in (a) Dukem town, (b) Bishoftu town and (c) Mojo town. (source: own elaboration).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Municipal solid waste flow of Bishoftu town (source: own elaboration).
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Municipal solid waste flow of Dukem town (source: own elaboration).
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
The flow of municipal solid waste management practices in Mojo town (source: own elaboration).
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Municipal solid waste flow of Mojo town (source: own elaboration).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Befikadu A.T., Tafa B.A. An empirical analysis of the effects of population growth on economic growth in Ethiopia using an autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) model approach. Discrete Dynam Nat. Soc. 2022;2022 doi: 10.1155/2022/3733243. - DOI
    1. Kookana R.S., Drechsel P., Jamwal P., Vanderzalm J. Urbanisation and emerging economies: issues and potential solutions for water and food security. Sci. Total Environ. 2020;732 doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139057. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Arteaga C., Silva J., Yarasca-Aybar C. Solid waste management and urban environmental quality of public space in Chiclayo, Peru. City Environ. Interact. 2023;20 doi: 10.1016/j.cacint.2023.100112. - DOI
    1. Shah W.U.H., Yasmeen R., Sarfraz M., Ivascu L. The repercussions of economic growth, industrialization, foreign direct investment, and technology on municipal solid waste: evidence from OECD economies. Sustain. Times. 2023;15 doi: 10.3390/su15010836. - DOI
    1. Godfrey L., Ahmed M.T., Gebremedhin K.G., Katima J.H.Y. Solid waste management in Africa: governance failure or development opportunity? Reg. Dev. Africa. 2019:15.

LinkOut - more resources