Willingness to pay for improved solid waste management services in an urbanizing area in South-East Nigeria

Abstract

Developing countries often fail to pay adequate attention to solid waste management in the bid to accelerate the rate of their development, and this oversight typically culminates into an adverse impact on the environment and on public health and safety. This paper sought to analyse the factors influencing residents’ willingness to pay for improved solid waste management services due to private sector involvement in Ihiala, Southeastern Nigeria. Data were collected with structured questionnaires administered to ninety respondents, and was analysed using descriptive statistics and ordered logit regression. The results showed that majority (92.2%) of the residents were aware of the inherent risks that could stem out of improper solid waste management, although a lesser proportion of them (64.4%) were willing to pay for an improvement. WTP was influenced by marital status, household size and income. It was recommended that government pursue policies that will significantly improve the income of residents and encourage public-private partnership in waste management.

Keywords: Solid waste management, Willingness to Pay, Ordered logit, pollution