Assessment of the sustainability of solid waste collection and transport services by MSEs.

Different countries employ different approaches to manage waste in order to prevent its impacts on the environment. Especially for developing countries micro and small enterprises (MSEs) can be one of the methods which can play a vital role in achieving the active participation of the population as a solution for problems associated with solid waste (Scheinberg, 2001). Until recent years in Ethiopia, solid waste management (SWM) services were majorly the responsibilities of the municipalities, which resulted in inadequate service provision. While in 2007, a new SWM proclamation No.513/2007 formulated at federal level, this law allows the private sectors including micro and small enterprises (MSEs) to participate in solid waste management service. Bahir Dar is among the major cities located at north-western Ethiopia in which the city primarily starts solid waste collection service by MSEs and this study is focused on it. The focus of this study is to explore the sustainability of solid waste collection and transport services by MSEs in Bahir Dar and which government mechanisms are used to support/stimulate sustainable service delivery by MSEs. To conduct this research, various literatures are reviewed; by selecting two sample MSEs using random sampling technique both primary and secondary data were collected. Questionnaires, interview, FGD and field observation were conducted and analysed using SPSS software, Excel sheets and narration. The findings revealed that the main drivers for the organization of MSES in Bahir Dar city are the absence of any competitor in the private limited company (PLC) waste service, its service quality decrement and high service fee of the PLC on users. Besides the purpose of organizing these MSEs have multifaceted objectives. The immediate objective is for economic purpose, which is creating job opportunities for the poor people on the street. The second purpose is to keep the cleanliness of the city through creating more competitors. The researcher assessed the factors that influence the sustainability of waste collection and transport services of MSEs using indicators. Based on the findings the MSEs are partly socially sustainable. This is because the MSEs have created job opportunities particularly for the vulnerable groups in the society and they are currently providing the service for all citizens without discrimination. In addition, the existing cooperation of users towards the service is encouraging in which 55% of the respondents replied as the users’ cooperation is medium and 13% of the waste workers replied that users’ cooperation is high. While the workers safety and satisfaction is under constraint. Technically, though the MSEs have started using locally produced technologies such as hand carts, according to the findings, 80% of the respondents disagree as they are not well fit with the existing road and topography conditions. Moreover, the lack of sufficient WCT equipments; especially the lack of waste transport vehicle highly impedes the waste collection activity of MSEs. Besides, because of low awareness of users and lack of attention from BDM waste is hardly segregated at source. Due to these main factors the service is not technically sustainable. Environmentally, the service is constrained by several factors and not sustainable .These are, absence of environmental policy, no waste separation at source, and waste is not timely collected. Besides, the collected waste is not safely disposed in the area and has a higher negative impact on inhabitants.