Residents' Perceptions and Attitudes towards Municipal Solid Waste Management Practices in Freetown Central Zone, Sierra Leone.

Solid waste management has not only become a daunting task, but also an obvious apprehension in many urban cities, especially for developing nations. Sierra Leone is no exception to such apprehension. The issue is exacerbated particularly for municipal authorities who lack the capacity and basic required logistics to manage the escalating waste condition. Freetown is a mix and most rapidly growing municipality in Sierra Leone, as it is the hub for all major commercial activities. The unappealing piles of solid waste and windblown litter on major streets in Freetown have greatly compromised its environmental quality, natural beauty and aesthetic appearance. This paper is aimed at assessing residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards municipality solid waste management practices in the Freetown Central Zone. To achieve the aim of this study, the Theory of Planned Behaviour which offers a framework for studying human behaviour, directed the study. Using a structured survey electronic questionnaire and thorough interview guide, data was collected from 273 arbitrarily selected household respondents. It was established from the assessment that residents recognized solid waste management as a principal problem in the environment. Approaches to managing municipality solid waste problems will require the provision of sufficient skips, waste bins, and place them at suitable locations accessible to the communities. Even where there are deficiencies in the enforcement of rules and regulations, utilizing community commitment and neighbourhood passion can help in enhancing an effective solid waste management practice in the study area. Additionally, rigorous public education and payment of subsidies by municipality authorities for waste management services should be prioritized to model the existing perception and attitude of residents of the study area. The findings of this study will help open the minds of stakeholders about the concept of perception and attitude to attaining a sustainably cleaner environment. Finally, this research will aid policymakers to consider restructuring existing solid waste management policy to incorporate the circular economy paradigm and factor the role of attitude and perception of waste producers.