Evaluating the efficacy of social capital in facilitating sustainable municipal waste management: Reflections from Harare, Zimbabwe

Abstract

The volumes of waste in urban areas around the globe continue to increase due to the upsurge in disposals from exponentially growing urban populations. Ideally, the waste must be regularly collected by responsible councils, but in some countries, the collection has been erratic due to operational challenges. Unfortunately, this is the current and perpetually unresolved problem in Zimbabwe. A lack of garbage collection vehicles, as well as a lack of fuel for the available refuse collection trucks, has resulted in sporadic refuse collection in urban areas. The accumulation of uncollected waste in Zimbabwe's urban areas pollutes the environment and exposes the inhabitants to health risks, leaving waste management responsibilities to the community. This research, adopts the mixed-methods approach to evaluate the efficacy of using community social capital in waste management in urban Zimbabwe. Data was collected through a survey, observations and key informant interviews. The study revealed that due to poor refuse collection by the Harare City Council, residents have taken the initiative to use their social capital to manage waste in their communities through mechanisms like clean-up exercises, environmental cleanliness training workshops as well as forming collaborations with community-based organisations. However, these social capital initiatives are backtracked by some errant residents who continue to dump waste in undesignated areas. Measures such as the introduction of waste recycling income generation projects, giving incentives to community clean-up participants and enforcement of penalties for dumping waste in illegal places are recommended to support social capital initiatives in municipal waste management in Harare.