KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
RESEARCH METHODS ASSIGNMENT
NAME: STEPHANIE ACHEAMPONG
INDXE NUMBER: PG7759421
REFERENCE NUMBER: 20818882
TOPIC: FIRMS AND HOUSEHOLDS PREFERENCE AND WILLINGNESS TO PAY
FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT SERVICES IN KUMASI; A DISCRETE CHOICE
EXPERIMENT
Problem statement
Ghana over the years has experienced waste management problems where households and firms
sometimes dispose their refuse anyhow due to the poor activities of waste management services
Several studies (such as Nebegu, 2010; Nagabooshnam, 2011; Okot-okumu, 2012) have indicated
that in developing countries , municipal solid waste are generated from households where
households generate waste from 55 to 80% ,commercial and market areas 10 -30% with varying
quantities from streets ,industries, institutions among others.
In Ghana, about 39% solid waste are disposed in the bushes, streets and holes (Yoada, et al., 2014)
and that is where there is the need for alternative choices where households and firms may rely on
instead of relying solely on the government or municipal waste management services. These
problems are attributed to limited provision of commercial garbage collection containers by the
municipalities, limited and delayed transportation of waste at the allocated points due to limited
means like garbage vehicles, and tractors (Ameyaw, et al., 2019). Ineffective management service
composting, combustion and landfills release greenhouse gases such as methane, nitrous oxide and
carbon dioxide into the air, which may in turn affect the climate pattern and may also be caused
by frequent burning of refuse where most urban dwellers see that as a way of disposing their refuse.
Improper way of disposing refuse may also cause health problems such as respiratory problems,
infectious diseases, fever and headaches in urban area (Gutbertet, 2018)
There has been numerous studies over the years on factors which influence the choice of household
waste management services which include assessment of household willingness to pay for
improved waste management services in South Ethiopia by (Kasa, et al., 2022), determinants of
households willingness to pay for improved waste management services ion Paynesville,Liberia .
(Loboe Scarlet, n.d), and willingness to pay for solid waste management in Hawassa city, Ethiopia
(Kayamo, 2012) and also in Pakistan. There has also been a few studies on waste management
services in firms which include, predicting the section of industrial waste disposal service in
Cement Klin by Suksanguan, Champahom, Jomnonkwao and Ratanavaraha (2022). But my work
combines households and firms preference for a particular waste management services in Kumasi.
Again, only few works have been done on households and firms’ preference and willingness to
pay for a waste management service in Ghana and none has been done in Ashanti Region .Most
of these researched papers were focused on developed countries such as Household willingness to
pay for solid waste management in Tanzania by (Sizya,2015); Analyzing demand for
environmental quality in Italy by ( Basili,2006), and a few on developing countries such as
willingness to pay for improved residential waste management services in developing countries
with its context being Nigeria by ( Ezebilo,2013),and another case study in Addis Ababa by(Dika,
et al., 2019 ). A few of the researched papers in Ghana have been conducted in Kumasi .Some
have been conducted in municipalities such households management to pay for improved solid
waste management ion four municipalities by (Boateng 2019) and one was done in Kumasi urban
cities by (Boateng 2016), but its limitation is that it was a research paper only on households.
Numerous papers such as improving municipal solid waste collection services in developing
countries; a case of Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Nepal by (Rai,et al., 2019) and household
preferences for improved solid waste management services in Kathmandu Metropolitan Ward by
(Bikash,et al., 2022) only analyzed consumers’ preference for a waste management service. These
researched papers especially the ones from the municipalities lacked the economic significance of
their study. Their main objective was to find an alternative or better alternative waste management
services for its citizens. However, my work looks at the net benefit of firms, when choosing an
alternative waste management service and also the duty of government in solving externality
problems such as landfill pollution which has become difficult to manage, this is because there is
lack of proper on-site waste management in most landfills.
Objectives of the study
The general objective is to examine households and firms preference and willingness to pay for
waste management service
The specific objectives are;
1. To examine the effects of waste management services attributes on firms and households
preference for alternative waste management service
2. To examine households’ and firms willingness to pay for an alternative waste management
services.
3. To examine the socio-economic factors on households and firms preference for alternative waste
management services
4. To examine firms’ net benefit and the role of government in solving externalities.
Research Questions
To achieve the research objectives, the following research questions will be addressed.
1 How does the waste management services attributes influence firms and households’ choices for
alternative waste management service
2. How much will households and firms be willing to pay for alternative source of waste
management services?
3. How does socio- economic factors affect households’ and firms preference for alternative waste
management services?
4. How will the net benefit of firms be affected in selecting a waste management service and
governments’ role in solving externalities.
References
Aliyu Baba Nabegu. (2010). An Analysis of Municipal Solid Waste in Kano Metropolis, Nigeria, Journal of
Human Ecology, 31:2, 111-119, DOI: 10.1080/09709274.2010.11906301
Basili, M., Di Matteo, M., & Ferrini, S. (2006). Analysing demand for environmental quality: A willingness to
pay/accept study in the province of Siena (Italy). Waste Management, 26(3), 209-219.
Boateng, S., Amoako, P., Poku, A. A., Appiah, D. O., & Garsonu, E. K. (2016). Household willingness to
pay for solid waste disposal services in urban Ghana: The Kumasi metropolis situation. Ghana Journal of
Geography, 8(2), 1-17.
Boateng, K. S., Agyei-Baffour, P., Boateng, D., Rockson, G. N. K., Mensah, K. A., & Edusei, A. K. (2019).
Household willingness-to-pay for improved solid waste management services in four major metropolitan
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