An Analysis of the Efficacy of the Zambian Legal Framework on Solid Waste Management for Low-Income Households: Lessons from Kenya

Abstract

This study analysed the efficacy of Zambia’s legal framework on solid waste management with reference to its impact on low-income households and draws comparative lessons from Kenya’s more progressive and effectively implemented model. The ongoing discrepancies between the Solid Waste Regulation and Management Act of 2018's legal intent and the actual experiences of communities living in peri-urban and informal settlements that continue to get subpar or non-existent waste collection services served as the impetus for the study. The study uses a comparative methodology in addition to qualitative analysis of international environmental obligations, institutional mandates, and statutory instruments. The results showed that even though Zambia has a comprehensive legal framework thanks to the Solid Waste Regulation and Management Act of 2018 and the Environmental Management Act of 2011, the framework is still largely ineffective in practice because of institutional fragmentation, inadequate funding for local authorities, lax enforcement, and the exclusion of informal waste actors from regulatory recognition. Kenya's model, on the other hand, shows a more robust operationalization of environmental legislation, bolstered by a rights-based constitutional approach, devolved governance structures, and strategic alliances with the commercial sector and community-based organizations.