Management Strategies to Examine Sustainable Approach for Plastic Waste Management in the Urban District of Zanzibar, Tanzania

This study is designed to examine sustainable plastic waste management in the Urban district of Zanzibar. A survey study employed a sampled population of 696 respondents through purposive and random sampling. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze. The findings revealed that there is a counterbalance in the households' awareness of the impact of improper management of plastic waste due to the level of their knowledge on understanding the environmental consequences of plastic pollution. However, increased education campaigns for the community and commitment to sustainable handling, collection, storage, and disposal of plastic waste in Stone Town and outside Stone Town are highly needed to improve the health of all citizens and the sustainability and beauty of the environment. The householders had awareness of the importance of keeping containers for waste storage; waste is stored in different types of containers, plastic sacks, plastic buckets and plastic containers and then transferred to the collection point. The municipal council uses trucks to collect all wastes from the collection point and dispose of them at the Kibele landfill site. The study recommends that the government increase plastic waste management awareness from the elementary level with the cooperation of education institutions and take steps to promote recycling to manufacturers of plastic products, waste managers and consumers who can all exert a significant influence on the development of the recycling sector and lastly, promote behavioral changes among plastic importers and industries by introducing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to hold manufacturers accountable.