Waste Management in Addis Ababa Internship

About Internship

Assistant professor , Department of Liberal studies, from University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun (UPES Dehradun), is accepting interns interested in the field of Economics, in the research area of Regional and Urban Economics.

This internship is available for candidates from Ethiopia, Africa as well as Indian students who are willing to travel to Ethiopia, Africa for the internship. The internship is Paid and the intern will receive a stipend.
Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, Africa, generates 2400 tons -3000 tons of municipal solid waste every day, with 70% being organic waste, 15% recyclable waste and rest inert. 76% of waste in the city is generated by households and thus municipal waste is a priority for city municipality. Households pay 20% of their water bill for solid waste collection while businesses pay 42.5% of their water bill, directly to the municipal authorities. Municipal authority then pays the small and micro enterprises on the basis of quantity of waste collected by them. As a result of this payment system, neither do households have an incentive to reduce their waste collection nor do SMEs have an incentive to ensure waste is segregated by households. And the waste generation and cost of waste management is not necessarily proportional to water consumption. This may create mismatch between the funding source and the waste management expenditure.
There are three objectives in this study.
1. Evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the current waste billing system to financially support a sustainable waste management system in Addis Ababa.
2. Examine suitable ways to promote waste segregation at source among urban households.
3. Explore how better household waste segregation could benefit the downstream waste treatment process.