. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG HOUSEHOLDS IN AWADAY SUB CITY, OROMIA REGION, EASTERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Background: Human activities create waste and the improper ways that waste is handled, stored, collected, and disposed of can pose risks to public health. Improper solid waste management is a major public health and environmental concern in the urban areas of many developing countries. A studies conducted in different part of Ethiopia showed that the Practice of SWM differ from region to region of the country and from town to town with in the same region depending of many factors. There is no recent information about solid waste management practices and associated factors among households in Awaday sub-city, Oromia, Eastern Ethiopia. Objective: To assess the level of solid waste management practice and associated factors among households in Awaday sub city, Oromia Region, Eastern Ethiopia from Nov.1, 2023 to Dec.5, 2023. Method: A community-based cross-sectional study using quantitative method was used. A total of 362 household heads were selected using systematic sampling technique. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. The collected data was entered into Epi-data and then export to SPSS Version 23.0 for further analysis. Descriptive statistic using mean, frequency, percentage, binary and multiple logistic regressions we performed using SPSS version 23.0 software. All covariates that are significant at p-value < 0.25 in bivariate analysis were considered for multivariate analysis to control all possible confounders. The level of statistical significance was declared at p-value less than 0.05. Result: In this study, a total of 362 households participated with a response rate of 355(98.1%). Of these 283(79.7%, 95%CI 75.2%-83.8%) solid waste management practice was poor. Factors that are significantly associated with SWM practice includes educational status (AOR=3.14, 95%CI 1.73-5.71), monthly income (AOR=2.51, 95%CI 1.37-4.51), ownership of the house (AOR=2.08, 95%CI 1.15-3.78) and access door to door collection service (AOR=2.21, 95% CI 1.16-4.23). Conclusion: The study concluded that over three fourth of households had poor solid waste management practices. The monthly income of the household head, educational status, house ownership and access to waste collector service were found to be significantly associated with household solid waste management practices.