Contribution of hotels participation in solid waste sorting and storage in Kakamega town, Kenya

Abstract

Globally, hotels recognize the importance of sorting and storing solid waste to achieve sustainable waste management. However, hotels in developing countries like Kenya face challenges in collaboration, empowerment and access to information, leading to low levels of waste sorting and storage practices. In Kakamega Town, approximately 30% of hotels solid waste end up in municipal waste streams, complicating environmental planning efforts for the municipality. Therefore, the main objective was to examine the contribution of hotels participation in solid waste sorting and storage in Kakamega Town. Specific objectives were to: determine the contribution of hotels information sharing in solid waste sorting and storage; establish the contribution of hotels empowerment in solid waste sorting and storage; and assess the contribution of hotels collaboration in solid waste sorting and storage. A cross-sectional descriptive research design was used. Saturated sampling was adopted to sample 39 hotels. Twenty-two key informants were interviewed. The study utilized stratified sampling to categorize hotels based on bed capacity into low (6 – 20 beds) and high (21–100 beds). Primary data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires, interviews schedule and observational checklist. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics such as bar charts, pie charts, percentages, and frequencies. The hypotheses were tested using Chi-square tests of independence and homogeneity. The effect sizes were measured using Cramer’s V coefficient to determine the significance and strength of relationships among variables. The results show a statistically insignificant (2 = 34.192, V= 0.781, p = 0.001), collaboration contributed very highly to solid waste sorting and storage; a strong statistically insignificant (2 = 8.442, V = 0.403, p = 0.392), empowerment contributed strongly to solid waste sorting and storage; and a moderate statistically insignificant (2 = 25.763, V = 0.471, p = 0.586), a moderate contribution on methods of accessing information on solid waste sorting and storage among hotels. The study concludes that, hotels collaboration, empowerment and access to information strongly contributes to solid waste sorting and storage. The study recommended the increased collaboration and empowerment of hotels towards sustainable solid waste sorting and storage.