Towards sustainable management of plastic waste in Bole sub city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The improper disposal of plastics presents immediate concern for the degradation of the natural environment and a risk to human, livestock and wildlife health and wellbeing in our contemporary world. A paradigm shift towards green and clean Solid Waste Management in general, and plastic waste management in particular is affirmed to be vital as it safeguards the ecosystem while preserving a green economy and social equity amongst present and future generations. This study focused in Bole sub city of Addis Ababa with the purpose of assessing current practices, and developing sustainable strategy for managing plastic waste in the fast growing Bole sub-city of Addis Ababa. Quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection, and analysis were employed for this study. Lack of enough public toilets in the sub-city, lack of enough dust bins and vehicles to properly manage the plastic waste, lack of awareness about plastic waste pollution, irregular collection services, inadequate equipment used for waste collection, and resource constraints were among the pressing challenges for sustainable plastic waste management in the study area. Moreover, the plastic waste management practices in the study area were asserted not to be supported by modern technologies. Different stakeholders like civil society organizations (CSOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Private sectors, and the government sectors should support solid waste management micro enterprises with vehicles, protective cloths, health and water services to promote circular economy, and sustainable management of plastic waste. Moreover, the responsible government sector for municipal solid waste management and different stakeholders should facilitate recycling of plastic bag waste; and create awareness for the same using different media. The ongoing corridor development, and green legacy initiatives in Addis Ababa, and Bole sub-city are expected to reverse the undesirable situation of environmental quality of the city in relation to the achievement of sustainable development goal for solid waste management sector.