The effects of communal land sub-division and land use changes on household waste production in the southern rangelands of Kenya

Abstract

In the past few decades, the inhabitants of now Kajiado County in the southern rangelands of Kenya have experienced changes in land tenure and in land use that have impacted other aspects of their livelihoods as well as the environment. The study sought to examine these changes within the context of their potential influences on the household production and management of solid waste. Local residents from three different study areas were interviewed using questionnaires which included questions pertaining to basic demographic information, to land ownership and use, and to knowledge and behaviors regarding organic and inorganic household waste. The study revealed that while some characteristics of waste management were affected by land tenure and use, the use of waste from agricultural farms to feed livestock as a waste disposal method worked well for most households. Whereas some respondents burned their solid wastes others just left waste to litter in the compound. The majority of the results indicated that present changes in land tenure and land were key factors in influencing solid waste generation in the region. However, the study highlights several concerns about the lack of education and infrastructure for proper waste management which deserved attention. The study concluded that there was a relationship between solid waste generation and the nature of land use; agriculturalists produced more waste due to sedentarisation than pastoralists. Proper infrastructure and sensitization on solid management are keys to the negative impacts of solid waste to the inhabitants of the southern rangelands of Kenya.