HOUSEHOLD SOLID WASTE GENERATION ,CHARACTERIZATION AND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN MELKA RAFU TOWN, KOMBOLCHA DISTRICT OF EAST HARARGHE ZONE, ETHIOPIA

Household Solid Waste Generation, characterization and Management Practices in Melka Rafu Town, Kombolcha District of East Hararghe Zone, Ethiopia The rapid increase in population together with expansion of urban centers is producing large volumes of wastes, which demand better infrastructure, institutional setup and community participation for its management. But, most of solid wastes that generated are remaining uncollected and simply dumped at open space. This study focused on identifying the types of solid wastes, Household Solid Waste Generation, characterization and Management Practices Data was collected form 132 participant households from two kebeles through questionnaire, key informant interviews and field observations. Household solid wastes were collected daily for one week and analyzed for the component composition and physicochemical properties. The results showed that the average per capita and household generation rate of solid waste in the town were 0.304 kg/person/day and 1.58kg/HH/day, respectively. The largest proportion of waste types was the yard waste which represented 69.13 kg/day (33.29%) followed by Food waste which accounted for 40kg/day (17.82). Manure 34kg/day (15.81) Ash 29kg/day, plastic waste 28.76kg/day, Metal 3.25kg/day. paper 3kg/day and glass 1.5kg/day Results revealed that the mean values of MC, OC, N, P, K, pH, EC, and C/N ratio of the waste composition were 55.7%, 35.83%, 1.35%, 0.46 %, 0.85%, 6.77, 5.99 mS/cm, and 26.54:1, respectively. Finally, it is concluded that the RSW generations of Melka Rafu town is increasing in line with growth in socio-economic parameters, which is significantly affected by household family size and monthly income. The waste generated in the town is mainly biodegradable organic consisting of mostly yard and food waste materials. As a result, the more compostable organic content of the waste materials with optimum ranges of physico chemical composition indicates an opportunity to give priority to the recovery of the waste materials through composting and biogas energy production, required for the appropriate waste management technology option in the town to reduce the current and future trends of waste generation while benefiting the local households.