Solid Waste Management in the Informal Settlements: A Land Use Planning Perspective

Abstract

This paper is based on a study conducted in Langas, an informal settlement located in Eldoret Town, Kenya. It brings to light key challenges in domestic solid waste management (SWM) facing the settlement. It largely contends that although Langas, a product of unplanned boundary extension, is now within the spatial jurisdiction of Eldoret Town, the County Government of Uasin Gishu (CGUG) has not improved SWM service to the neighbourhood. The target population comprised of 6,842 mapped residential developments. The corresponding sample of 361 was selected using a random number table. Results postulated that key emerging challenges towards effective domestic SWM included absentee landlords who flout development control orders; inadequate receptacles; indiscriminate disposal by households; unreliable collection by CGUG; low household incomes, and limited public education. The study concludes by asserting that past boundary extensions of Eldoret Town in the absence of adequate land use planning and development control are the root cause for inadequate SWM in Langas and other informal settlements. Recommendations made included, but not limited to, preparing a comprehensive land use plan, organizing citizen fora on SWM, regular solid waste collection, establishing a Municipal Board to address service delivery, and adoption GIS and remote sensing as smart technologies to aid in SWM.