Institutional Barriers to Community Participation in Solid Waste Management in Iringa Municipal Council, Tanzania

This study investigated the institutional barriers to community participation in Solid Waste Management (SWM) in Iringa Municipality, Tanzania. It focused on institutional barriers that hinder proper participation of community members in SWM, employing quantitative and qualitative approaches. The study adopted a cross-sectional design, Focus Group Discussions, interviews, and questionnaires for data collection with a sample size of 100 heads of households from eight wards. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20 was used for quantitative data analysis, while content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data. The study found that the institutional barriers to community participation in SWM are the weak implementation of legislation and regulation related to SWM and poor support from local government leaders in all activities related to SWM. These institutional barriers make it difficult for the community to attain SWM. It is recommended that the LGA should reinforce those laws and the regulations related to SWM and provide support when needed to the community to attain sustainable SWM. Furthermore, LGA staff are recommended to perform their roles and responsibilities regarding SWM according to their laws, regulations and guidelines to ensure sustainable SWM