Shadow pricing of agricultural solid wastes disposal in urban Kenya: the case of Eldoret Municipality.

Abstract

Assessing agricultural solid wastes (asw) pollution loads requires specific contributions of agricultural solid wastes to the solid waste generation and management. This paper comes in the wake of serious financial constraints facing Eldoret Municipal Council (E.M.C) in Kenya leading to a collapse in the solid waste management efforts. The main objectives were to determine the shadow prices of agricultural solid wastes disposal, analyze agricultural solid wastes pollution loads and provide a sensitivity analysis on the various policy options available. Linear programming was used to determine the shadow prices of agricultural solid wastes disposal in the municipality and a sensitivity analysis was conducted. The results indicate the shadow price of agricultural solid wastes disposal was Kenya Shillings [Ksh] 561.18 per unit tone which was higher than the actual disposal cost of Ksh 477.00. It was also found that shadow price of agricultural solid wastes disposal in the industrial sector was Ksh 1495.29 which was also higher than the actual industrial cost of solid waste deposal of Ksh 1271 per unit tone. The results further indicate that about 32% of the commercial and industrial solid wastes in the municipality were agricultural solid wastes and that about 11% of it was being recovered for use elsewhere. A sensitivity analysis conducted on these results revealed that specific policy instruments such as tax incentives and subsidy policies on agricultural solid wastes can be used to stimulate the process of recovery and utilization of agricultural solid wastes as raw materials. It is recommended that other than revise the pricing of utilities and services, an economic policy formulation towards the promotion of recovery and utilization of solid wastes as raw materials is a priority area. Copyright of Journal of International Management Studies is the property of Sandeep R. Khade and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.