Abstract:
Solid waste management is one of the vital environmental services that modern world can deliver to its citizens. Nevertheless, management of solid waste in several developing countries like Pakistan is becoming a challenging issue because of rising volume of waste generated and associated adverse impacts on public health and environment. Likewise, Murree, a well-known tourist city of Pakistan has been encountering a burgeoning challenge of solid waste management due to lack of scientific information on the issue of solid waste. Therefore, Aim of this study was to assess the current situation of solid waste management and identify the different factors and barriers affecting waste management process in Murree. For this purpose, data was collected through questionnaires, interviews and field observations. In order to obtain a well representative sample, study areas was divided into seven sampling zones. Various analysis including waste generation and composition analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and SWOT analysis were performed. It was found that hotels were the major producer of waste in Murree. Waste generation was found varying in different seasons and it was also influenced by household size, income level and types of waste source. Waste collection services were found inadequate, because almost half of waste produced in the city is disposed off illegally. The study also revealed that effectiveness of waste management system was influenced by various socioeconomic factors such as income level, education, types of waste sources, distance between road and waste generation source, awareness about solid waste management, and attitude of population towards solid waste management. Low level of public awareness was identified as most important barrier in waste management followed by insufficient funds availability, inadequate laws regulating waste management, and poorly trained waste management workers. Therefore, there is need to shift the existing practices towards waste prevention, along with sustained public awareness programs.
