African Journal of Environmental and Waste Management

African Journal of Environmental and Waste Management ISSN 2375-1266 Vol. 4 (3), pp. 206-216, March, 2017. © International Scholars Journals 

Review

Domestic waste management and its environmental impacts in Addis Ababa City

Ali Mohammed and Eyasu Elias

Center for Environmental Science, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Addis Ababa city’s solid waste is a threat to the environment as only 65% produced per day is collected and disposed, 5% is recycled, 5% is composted, while the remaining 25% is uncollected and dumped in unauthorized areas. As the municipal wastes are dominated by domestic wastes, their management and associated environmental impacts is worthy of attention. The review aimed to examine the sources and impacts of domestic wastes and evaluate the existing waste management practices through field visit, discussion and review of documents. The solid waste generation rate is 0.45kg/capita/day; while around 100,000 m3 waste water is also produced per day from domestic activities alone. Wastes collectors participate in the waste management, with service charges of 20% of the water consumed for residential houses. The city is still dependent on ‘Reppi’ dumping site that receives over 750 tons of solid waste per day. Inadequate domestic waste management creates a range of environmental problems. The collection and treatment of waste water is complicated by the absence of sewerage networks and treatment plants, as sewer network coverage accounts for 7.5% of the built-up areas. Segregation, treatment, proper disposal, policy and law enforcement and capacity building are potential areas of improvement and research interventions.