Willingness to pay for solid waste management improvement in Hawassa city, Ethiopia

This study used a contingent valuation method to estimate residents' WTP for improved solid waste management in Hawassa city. The improvement in solid waste management includes the relocation of the current landfill and the switch from open donkey carts to covered tractors with a waste compactor for solid waste transportation. A method of iterative bidding was used to ask residents about their WTP, and ordinal logistic regression was used for data analysis. The result of the study indicated that the estimated average WTP of residents was Ethiopian Birr (ETB) 26.57 ($ 0.62) per month. Besides, the study findings showed that waste minimization practices such as reuse, recycle, waste separation and making compost from waste were uncommon at the household level in Hawassa city. The policy implications of the findings are that the Municipality of Hawassa should consider the residents' willingness for improved solid waste management service and adopt the solid waste management improvement project to prevent further public health risks and environmental impacts.