| Summary: | Zambia is one of the countries in Africa with a high rate of waste generation. It has
been argued that high rate of waste generation in Zambia and particularly Lusaka, its
capital, is due to high population growth caused by rural-urban, urban-urban migration
and natural growth. Poor waste management in the city of Lusaka has resulted in loss of
people's lives due to the outbreak of diseases like cholera and dysentery. Management
of waste has both positive and negative impact on sustainable development and the
negative impact can only be reduced if the efforts from all stakeholders are put together
to ensure solid waste is well managed. However, whilst some efforts are being made by
the local authority and other stakeholders to ensure that there is sound solid waste
management in the city, the contribution to this fight by the local people seems to be
minimal. The main purpose of this paper was to investigate the attitudes of people in
Lusaka towards waste management and to assess the role of the stakeholders. The study
obtained its findings through focus group discussions of the Lusaka residents,
individual interviews for the stakeholders of waste management in the city and
literature review. The main findings of the study suggest that the residents see the
Lusaka City Council as being exclusively responsible for waste management while at
the same time the council and other stakeholders face challenges of lack of public’
support and inadequate human and financial resources to carry out their programs. The
findings of this study may help relevant government bodies in the planning and
decision making process for developmental projects in general and particularly in
development of strategies and systems for sound management of solid waste.
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