Source and Role of Women in Solid Waste Management

Solid waste management is a term that is used to refer to the process of collecting and treating solid wastes. It also offers solutions for recycling items that do not belong to garbage or trash. As long as people have been living in settlements and residential areas, garbage or solid waste has been an issue. In most developing societies, women are responsible for domestic work like shopping, cooking, cleaning and childcare and wellbeing of their husbands. Their multiple roles as mothers, homemakers, educators, entrepreneur and products place a heavy demand on them particularly the non-elite ones.  As a result if household disposal practice is known it will be easy to introduce measures to reduce the amount of waste generated by the effected community.  Also an understanding of the diversity of the local culture of home-owners can assist the planning of a domestic solid waste management system. Addressing social, economic and environmental issues require an in depth review of the existing situation and through planning in order to develop performance management plans. This can be achieved by involving affected communities especially women which is vital for the understanding of priority areas.