The term solid waste (SW) may be used to refer to municipal waste and it can be defined as the waste in solid-state generated by human activities in municipal centers. This includes soil, debris, metal scrap, paper, plastics such as (basins and cups), textiles and leather, broken bottles, glass as well as electrical and electronic equipment. It can be categorised into several groups. They are residential (or household or domestic waste), commercial, institutional, street sweeping, construction and demolition, sanitation, and industrial wastes (Rush, 1999). Whereas municipal solid waste refers to solid wastes from houses, streets and public places, shops, offices, and hospitals, which are very often the responsibility of municipal or other governmental authorities (NEMA, 2007); solid waste from industrial processes is generally not considered municipal.

The findings showed that solid waste generation in Kawaala Town Council is very high characterized by paper boxes, plastic bottles, banana peels, and other organic food waste, as well as polythene materials among others. The study revealed that public participation in solid waste management took several forms ranging from waste collection, sorting, transportation, and waste disposal. From the regression analysis on the roles of the public in solid waste management, the results showed an R Square value of 0.011 and Adjusted R Square value of 0.005, (R= 0.106, R2 = 0.011, P-value < 0.005) this indicates that level of education was a significant predictor of public participation in solid waste management and contributed 10% of the variation of participants’ understanding of the need for sorting waste. A positive t- value of 9.364 with (P- value =0.00< 0.05) indicates that a relationship exists between respondents choice of a waste control strategy. However, selling of plastics to recycling companies has been identified as a viable waste control method in Kawaala as viewed from a positive ß = 0.118. This means that the educated individuals are more willing to sell waste to a recycling company than merely participating in sorting and collecting it. The challenges in waste management included: lack of proper dumping sites, ignorance of some people of the dangers of indiscriminate waste disposal, distant disposal facilities, inadequate financing among others.