Abstract:
This research work investigates the plastic waste and its management in Arusha municipality.
The study is intended to achieve three specific objectives (a) to assess the kind of waste
management systems used in Arusha municipality; (b) to determine the level of awareness on
sustainable plastic waste management; (c) to analyse the value of plastic waste management
in Arusha municipality. Primary data for the research was acquired through questionnaires
and interviews where as secondary data was gathered from books, journals, research papers
and past dissertations. Environmental Responsible Behaviour Theory and Waste
Management Theory guided this study. A population of 130 respondents obtained by
purposive and random sampling was used and the study was conducted in Arusha
municipality. The study used quantitative and qualitative research approaches in data
collection and they were analysed by the use of descriptive and thematic analysis methods
respectively. The research findings indicated that the plastic waste systems put in place such
as waste collection stations, use of refuse trucks and the need for more skilled labour need to
be reviewed and better structured and implementation of policies where as, educating the
society is also key to better understanding of impacts of plastic waste management. Some
respondents acknowledged value in plastic waste management this being due to access of
knowledge and information gained through different sources such as television programs and
the Internet. The major recommendations of the study include policymaking on how plastic
waste is to be managed from households to municipal level and implementation, provision of
education on waste management to the community in order to create awareness and
adherence to policies and setting of waste collection systems that would encourage proper
disposal methods.
