**1. Introduction**

Henry and Yongsheng [1] state the primary target of municipal SWM is to protect the health of the population, promote environmental quality, develop sustainability and provide support to economic productivity.

As with many Sub-Saharan African cities [2–4], Ethiopia has experienced many problems related to SWM for a long time. Solid waste accumulation within cities raises concerns about public health, environmental pollution and detrimental fatalities. The

uncollected solid waste turns to be an ideal place for breeding microbial pathogens, flies, rats and other creatures which spread diseases [5], such as cholera, diarrhoea, etc. Poor hygienic practices have contributed to the spread of diseases in Ethiopia which accounts for more than 60% of the disease burden in the country [6]. The recent accidental death on 'Koshe' disposal site is evident for the destructive nature of unmanaged waste.

Municipal services in developing countries are handicapped by limited finances. The ever-increasing demand on urban services has also exerted another challenge. As a result, contracting out SWC services to the private sector has emerged to fill the gap in service delivery.

The gathering and safe removal of waste require due emphasis. For example, generation rates in 2009 in Nairobi are estimated at 1850 tons/day. Only 33% is composed and removed [7]. Similarly, according to Okot-Okum, only 21.7% is gathered in a daily base. Likewise, from 9,240,000 kg waste collected daily, only 29% is gathered in Ethiopia. This shows that various areas of the cities do not obtain appropriate service from SWC. As a result, most citizens in the urban areas dispose their waste randomly. This also indicates that the waste separation and 3 R's principles should be properly conceived and implemented. In developing countries, waste is not processed, reused in a cost-efficient and safe manner [8].

There are a number of academic studies on SWM in Africa. To mention some, Awortwi [9] focuses on governance in multiple arrangements and the relationships between capacity and contractual arrangements. Obirih-Opake [4] deals with on public private partnerships (PPP), specifically the impact of decentralisation and private sector participation on urban environmental management. The concerns for Karanja [8] are sustainable development issues in SWM; institutional arrangements; the role, interest, success and failure of different actors. Collins [10] and Koppenjan [11] show the challenges facing PPP and identify the focus of private sector as only on short-term return on investment. Katusiimeh [12] indicates the lack of regulation and transparency in Uganda. Tilaye and van Dijk [13] underline the importance of consistent power of the state in shaping the developmental role of the private sector (focus on micro enterprises). Baud and Post try to connect SWM with sustainable development by operationalising three broad goals: ecological sustainability, socio-economic equality and improvement of health. They argue that there is a gap in the current literature on sustainable SWM in developing countries that the system is rarely investigated in its entirety. Assessments combining separation of waste, productive use of waste and the three broad goals of sustainability are still largely absent [14]. The number of studies on SWM remark the importance of regulatory and institutional framework, and they have shown the rhetoric nature of the issues when compared with the real practice on the ground. The sustainability of SWM depends on how the waste separation and the 3R's principles are conceived and implemented by actors in the waste management sector. This research examines how municipalities frame and act on waste separation and 3'R principles and how they involve households and private providers to ensure sustainable SWM. The rational to examine this issue is due to the fact that the sustainability of SWM at the local government level is greatly influenced by the role the aforementioned actors play.

This study hypothesised that the current SWC practice through PSI fails to assimilate waste separation and the 3R's principles and make use of the role the actors could play for sustainable SWM. Thus, the research question is: How have the local governments framed and acted on waste separation and the 3R's principles and engaged the actors for sustainable SWM? We offer insights into the ways of making waste separation and 3'R s principles feasible through the integrated involvement of household and private providers.
