**4. Description of the study area**

The 2003 Constitution of Ethiopia stipulates that the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) comprises nine administrative regions and two administrative council cities. The total population of the country is about 90,078,000 [30]. There are 145 cities and towns with a population of more than 15,000 inhabitants. The rapid, constant growth of the urban population has led to a striking increase in urban solid waste generation, with a crucial environmental and socio-economic (i.e. related to disease and wastage of resources) impact. Low levels of access to SWC facilities and poor hygienic practices have contributed to the spread of diseases in Ethiopia. These factors account for more than 60% of the disease burden in the country [6]. Five cities were chosen for this study: namely Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar, Mekelle, Hawasa and Adama. These cities face rapid urbanisation and are the main regional capitals with the largest urban populations endangering the environment by generating much solid waste.

*Waste Separation and 3R's Principles for Sustainable SWM: Practice of Households… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108327*

A previous study in Addis Ababa by Debere et al. [31] found that the median waste generation rate varied per household from 0.361 to 0.669 kg/day. Tadesse et al. [32] found a variation between 0.30 kg/day and 0.33 kg/day/household in Mekelle. The review of a baseline survey report shows that the average household in Hawasa city generates 0.42 kg/day. Getahun and Mengistie [33] indicates that low, middle and highincome households in Adama generate 0.67 kg/day, 1.21 kg/day and 1.87 kg/day, respectively. The per capita waste generation in Bahir Dar city is 0.25 kg/day from residential sources; however, it is about 0.45 kg/day from combined municipal waste – from residential, commercial, institutional and street sweeping sources [34]. The solid waste generation rate in Ethiopian cities is similar to that of low-income countries. Glawe et al. [35, 36] confirm that the waste generation rate of low-income countries is 0.1–0.5 kg/ capita/day as opposed to 1.1 kg/capita/day and above in fully industrialised countries.
