GENERATION RATE AND PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF HOUSEHOLD SOLID WASTE IN MORSITO TOWN, HADIYA ZONE, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

Rapid population growth and expanding urbanization have caused a dramatic increase in type and volume of household solid waste generated in many towns of the country including Morsito town. Most of this solid waste is illegally dumped in open site. The objective of this study was to determine the generation rate and characterize selected physicochemical properties of household solid waste in Morsito Town. A total of 131 households were randomly selected from purposively selected 2 kebeles of the town. Average solid waste generation rates of households were determined using the data obtained from households for seven consecutive days. The physical and chemical properties of household solid waste were analyzed. The rate of daily solid waste generation per the low, middle and high income households were 0.16kg/cap/day,0.18kg/cap/day and 0.2kg/cap/day, respectively with the average of 0.18 kg/cap/day. The annual solid waste generation rate of the town was estimated 1,329,439.5 kg. Major compositions of household solid wastes from the studied households were food waste, yard waste, ash, dust and soil, plastic, paper, metal, glass, wood and others. Among this composition, highest quantities of organic waste were identified as food waste. Food waste comprised the highest percentage (34.1%) while metal comprised the lowest percentage (0.23%). Moisture Content (%), Bulky Density (kg/m3), pH, Electrical Conductivity (dS/cm),Organic carbon (%), Total Nitrogen (%), C:N(%), Phosphorus (%) and Potassium (%) of household solid waste samples were 52.1, 370.7, 6.45,2.17,12.4,1.043,11.8, 0.55 and 0.375,respectively. Organic wastes as a resource should be given more attention in the study area in aiming for sustainable waste management. The organic waste should also be regarded as a resource and several appropriate technologies exist for adequate treatment and resource recovery, including composting and anaerobic digestion.