Abstract

Background Solid waste management is a major environmental and public health challenge in Mbarara District, especially with rapid urbanization and limited public funding. Willingness to pay (WTP) for solid waste management services is essential for sustainability, yet it remains unassessed in the area. This study assessed the prevalence of WTP for solid waste management services and the associated factors among households in Mbarara District, Southwestern Uganda.

Methods A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted among 250 randomly selected individuals in households of Bwizibwera-Rutooma and Rubindi-Ruhumba town councils, Mbarara district. Data were collected using interviewer-administered questionnaires, entered in Microsoft Excel and transferred to STATA version 17.0 for cleaning and analysis. Continuous variables were summarized using means and standard deviations, while categorical variables were presented as frequencies and proportions. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis at a 95% level of confidence was done to identify factors associated with WTP for solid waste management services.

Results Overall, 62% (156/250; 95% C.I.: 56.2%-68.2%) of the participants were willing to pay for solid waste management services. The majority, 64.1% (100/156) were willing to pay one thousand Uganda shillings or more for SWM. Factors associated with WTP for solid waste management services were; being male (aOR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.2-4.6; p-value = 0.011), having a monthly income>100,000 Uganda Shillings (UGX) (aOR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.7-4.1; p-value = 0.015), disposing wastes using town council services (aOR = 7.75, 95% CI: 1.35-44.47; p-value = 0.022) and receiving weekly waste collection services (aOR = 2.62; 95% CI: 1.06-6.50; p=0.038).

Conclusion The willingness to pay for solid waste management services was relatively high and was positively associated with being male, monthly income>100,000 UGX, reliance on town council waste collection services and Weekly collection of the solid wastes. Solid waste management programs should ensure regular, affordable services through town councils and promote inclusive strategies that consider income and gender to enhance willingness to pay.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Funding Statement

The authors received no specific funding for this work

Author Declarations

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Not Applicable

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

The study adhered to the ethical principles according to the Helsinki Declaration. It was reviewed and approved by the Research and Ethics Committee of Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST-2024-1781). Administrative clearance was obtained from the Mbarara District Chief Administrative Officer before data collection. Written informed consent was obtained from all the study participants, and they were assured of maximum confidentiality and protection. Participants’ identities were maintained anonymous with unique codes instead of their names

I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.

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I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

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I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

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Data Availability

All relevant data are within the maniscript and its supporting information files

AbbreviationsWTPWillingness to paySWMSolid waste managementUGXUgandan shillingsMUSTMbarara University of Science and TechnologycORcrude odds ratioaORadjusted odds ratio.