Domestic solid waste management practices in an informal settlement: A gendered perspective
Keywords:
gender, management, participation, socialization, wasteAbstract
This study aimed at investigating the practices of men and women in the management of domestic solid waste in Kiandutu Informal Settlement in Kiambu County, Kenya. The consideration of men and women is paramount because a community is made up of the two genders each displaying different characteristics, perceptions and behaviour towards a similar situation. The study was guided by the Social Context Theory and Identity Theory. The findings reveal that gendered socialization processes played a big role in men’s and women’s daily encounter with domestic solid waste. The domestic solid waste practices exhibited were gendered and being regulated by socio-cultural and environmental factors. Men and women were found to engage in various solid waste management practices but motivated by different factors that had a gender connotation. The study therefore suggests that strategic gendered interventions are a prerequisite to effective management of domestic solid waste particularly in the informal settlement where solid waste management equipment and infrastructure are limited.
Downloads
References
Al-Khatib, I. A., Kontogianni, S., Abu Nabaa, H., Alshami, N., and Al-Sari’, M. I. (2015). Public perception of hazardousness caused by current trends of municipal solid waste management. Waste Management, 36323-330.
Bacanovic, V. (2011). Gender and waste management introduction of gender perspective into Local Waste Management Plans: A case study from Serbia 2009-2011 GIZ. Belgrade.
Banga, M. (2013). Household knowledge, attitudes and practices in solid waste segregation and recycling: The case of urban Kampala. Zambia Social Science Journal, 2(1), 27-39. Available at: http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/zssj/vol2/iss1/4
Carter, M., J. (2014). Gender socialization and Identity Theory. Social Science, 3(2), 242-263; doi:10.3390/socsci3020242
challenge for solid waste managers. Durban Institute of Technology, Durban, 4000, South Africa
Chandra, Y.I. and Devi, N.L. (2009). Studies on municipal solid waste management in Mysore City- A case study. Department of Environmental Science, University of Mysore, India.
Chapungu, L., Zinhiva, H.,and Marange, N.,E. (2015). Assessment of domestic solid waste management systems in Rural District Service Centres: The case of Ngangu Residential Area in Chimanimani District, Zimbabwe. The Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management, 41(1), 96-105(10)
Cole, C., Osmani, M., Quddus, M.A., Wheatley, A.D. and Kay, K. (2011). Household waste management in the UK: Current practices and challenges. IN: Castro, F., Vilarinho, C., and Carvalho, J. (eds.) Proceedings of the First International Conference on Wastes: Solutions, Treatments and Opportunities, Guimaraes, Portugal, pp. 56 - 61.
Earle, L. and Earle, T. (1999). Social Context Theory. South Pacific Journal of Psychology, 11(2), http://spjp.massey.ac.nz/issues/1999-v11/v11-2_earle.pdf retrieved on 03/05/2015>
Emelumadu, O.F., Azubike, O, C., Nnebue, C, C., Azubike, N, F. and Sidney-Nnebue, Q.N. (2016). Practice, pattern and challenges of solid waste management in Onitsha Metropolis, Nigeria. American Journal of Public Health Research, 4(1), 16-22.doi: 10.12691/ajphr-4-1-3.
Fei-Baffoe, (2010). Household and Industrial Waste Management, Handout for MSc Environmental Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Department of Theoretical and Applied Biology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Flood, M. and Pease, B. (2009). Factors influencing attitudes to violence against
women. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, 10(2), pp. 125-142.
Kiarie L. N. (2012). Urbanization and poverty reduction strategies: A case study of Kiandutu slum Thika, Kenya Kenyatta University
Kimani, E. and Mwikamba, K. (2010). JAGST Vol. 12(2) 2010, Gender Dynamics in Science and Technology, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture, Science and Technology, Nairobi.
McAllister, J. (2015). Factors influencing solid-waste management in the developing world. All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Paper 528. Unpublished Thesis, Master of Science, Utah State University
Muhammad, M., N · and Manu, H., I. (2013). Gender roles in informal solid waste
management in cities of Northern Nigeria: A case study of Kaduna Metropolis.
Volume, 4. Issue, 5. 142- 153. Vol.4(5)
Mukama, T., Ndejjo, R., Musoke, D., Musinguzi, G., Halage, A. A., Carpenter, D. O., and Ssempebwa, J, C. (2016). Practices, concerns, and willingness to participate in solid waste management in two urban slums in Central Uganda. Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Environmental and Public Health, http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/6830163.
Orodho, A. and Kombo, D. (2002). Research Methods. Nairobi, Kenyatta University, Institute of Open Learning
Poswa, T., T. (2009). The importance of gender in waste management planning: A
challenge for solid waste managers. Durban Institute of Technology, Durban, 4000, South Africa
Regassa, N., Sundaraa, R.D., and Seboka, B. B. (2011). Challenges and opportunities in municipal solid waste management: The case of Addis Ababa City, Central Ethiopia. J Hum Ecol, 33(3), 179-190 (2011).
Stryker, S., and Burke P., J. (2000). The past, present, and future of an identity theory. Social Psychology Quarterly 63 (4), 284–97. https://doi.org/10.2307/2695840
UN-HABITAT, (2010). Collection of Municipal Solid Waste in Developing Countries.
Wachira, D., T. (2013). The social economic hazards of plastic paper bags litter in Peri- Urban Centres of Kenya; A case Study conducted at Ongata Rongai Township of Kajiado County. Unpublished Masters Thesis, University of Nairobi.
Zaman, A. and Lehmann, S. (2011). Urban growth and waste management
optimization towards ‘Zero Waste City. City, Culture and Society, 2, 177-187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccs.2011.11.007
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Willy Mwangi, Elishiba Kimani, Grace Okong’o, Christine Majale
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This open-access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.
You are free to: Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms: Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
No additional restrictions You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
