Solid Waste Management Practices at Egerton University, Njoro Campus and the Community Around

Aim: The purpose of this study was to characterise existing solid waste management practices in the study area.

Study Design: The study was a cross-sectional survey

Place and Duration: It was carried out between January – May 2009 within Egerton University, Njoro campus and the community around it, all within Njoro division.

Methodology: The sample comprised 220 respondents that were drawn from tenants, farmers and the business community. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to gather quantitative data which was analysed using frequency tables by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software.

Results: The study established that use of open dumpsite as the final disposal option was done within the University as well as for the community around the university. Open dumps and waste pits near living areas were fairly common outside the university but very rare within the University. Whereas waste collection was common in the university, it was rare outside the University. Waste burning was fairly common outside the university with more than 70% of the business people and the tenants burning their waste whereas tenants and students within the University never burnt their waste. Waste minimisation practices like shopping with a durable bag were practiced by over 50% of the respondents. Waste separation, practiced by 36% of the respondents was not practiced for environmental reasons but to extract materials that were still useful.

Conclusion: waste management within the university was better due to the presence of waste collection and centralised disposal which were lacking in the community outside the university.