Solid Waste Recycling and Job Market in Zambia

The purpose of this research was to determine the contribution of solid waste recycling companies to the job market in Zambia. A comprehensive database of patents and company registration agency for thirty-four companies working with waste recycling in Zambia was used.  The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. The results revealed that recycling companies create job opportunities and environmental benefits. The study has also established that recycling industry is growing rapidly. However, the sector has a lot of challenges e.g. the poor status of machinery. Old technologies have made the industry structure more costly to operate at full capacity. There was no significant difference (p >.05) in job creation between companies using old and new technologies (p = 0.635). Similarly, there was no significant difference (p >.05) in contribution to job creation between paper and plastic recycling (p = 0.456).  However, there was a significant (p<.05) difference in efficiency between old and new technologies.