Abstract:
This study investigated the households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for improved solid
waste disposal (SWD) services in Ampara urban council area. In Ampara urban council
(AUC) area solid waste is collected and open dumped to the Buddhangala sanctuary.
This caused many social and environmental issues. Using cross-sectional data obtained
from 301 households in Ampara urban council area, the study evaluate the association
between residents’ attitude on recycling and residents’ WTP amount for improved
SWD. As well as the association between residents’ awareness on consequences of
recycling and WTP amount for improved SWD. Another objective was to find the mean
WTP amount for improved solid waste disposal services and finally the impact of
household characteristics on WTP amount of the respondents. Descriptive and
inferential statistics were used to draw conclusions. To elicit the WTP, open-ended
contingent valuation method (CVM) was employed. Association between recycling
attitude and WTP as well as association between awarenss of consequence of recycling
and WTP was identified through pearson correlation. Impact of household
characteristics on WTP amount was identified through multiple linear regression.
According to the results, there is no association between residents’ attitude on solid
waste recycling and amount they are willing to pay for an improved solid waste disposal
system. As well as there is no association between residents’ awareness on
consequences of recycling and willingness to pay amount for an improved solid waste
disposal. The AUC residents’ WTP values indicated a mean WTP value of 390.23 LKR
per month. Regression model shows that residents’ income levels have an impact on
willingness to pay amount of the residents. The research findings shows the different
average WTP amount at different income levels. Therefore, it is recommended to
determine a garbage fee for AUC residents based on different income levels and use it
to establish a fund that can be used in implementing improved solid waste disposal
system.
