Contemporary institutional solid waste management practices of Haramaya University, Eastern Ethiopia

Even though waste products arise from our ways of life and are generated at every stage of the process of production and development, the type of decision making that leads to adequate solid waste management requires a sound understanding of the composition and processes that determine the generation of waste. So, to be successful, the first step is to carry out solid waste characterization studies. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it investigates the generation rate and physical composition of solid waste. Second, it examines the existing status and spatial coverage of institutional solid waste management practices of Haramaya University (HU). The sampling methods employed to select the study units include stratified sampling, systematic random sampling and purposive sampling. Questionnaires, field observations, field measurement and semi-structured interviews were employed to assess the soundness of waste management practices. The wastes generated on HU main campus can be estimated to be 3,509,0...