Assessing the environmental impacts of open dumping of solid waste in Chitungwiza Zengeza, Zimbabwe

Abstract

This study assessed the environmental impacts of open dumping of solid waste in Zengeza, Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe. The study was guided by three objectives: to identify the major causes of open dumping, to examine its environmental impacts on soil, water, and air quality, and to analyze its health and social implications on the local community. Questionnaires, interviews and observations were conducted to gather data from the residents, municipal officers, community leaders and health workers, and a mixed method was used. The data analysis involved was qualitative, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The results indicated that the major factors contributing to open dumping in Zengeza are: irregular municipal waste collection, lack of public awareness, overcrowding, poverty, negative attitude of the community and low enforcement of waste management regulations. The study also revealed that open dumping results in serious environmental degradation due to soil contamination, water pollution, air pollution, unpleasant odours, infestation of pests, damage to vegetation and disruption of ecosystem. The results also revealed that issues surrounding open dumping are serious health and social problems such as higher prevalence of infectious diseases, respiratory diseases, exposure of children to health hazards, mental stress, social stigma and the lack of interaction among members of the community. Descriptive results showed high levels of agreement across the key study variables, with mean scores of 4.21 for causes of open dumping, 4.34 for environmental impacts, 4.40 for health impacts and 4.28 for social impacts. The relatively low standard deviations, ranging from 0.59 to 0.68, indicated limited variation in respondents' views. The questionnaire demonstrated good internal consistency, with Cronbach's alpha values of 0.812 for causes of open dumping and 0.800 for both environmental impacts and health and social impacts. Correlation analysis revealed strong positive relationships among the study variables, including a strong relationship between environmental and health impacts (r = 0.756) and between health and social impacts (r = 0.773). Chi-square tests further established statistically significant relationships between waste collection and open dumping (χ² = 18.742, p = 0.001), awareness and dumping behaviour (χ² = 15.326, p = 0.004), and environmental and health impacts (χ² = 21.114, p < 0.001). The study concludes that open dumping is a multifaceted problem resulting from the interaction of institutional, socio-economic, environmental, and behavioural factors. The study recommends improving municipal waste collection services, strengthening environmental education programmes, enforcing waste management regulations, increasing community participation in waste management, and promoting sustainable waste disposal practices. Implementing these measures would contribute to improved environmental quality, public health, and sustainable urban development in Zengeza and similar urban communities.