Willingness to pay for and economic feasibility of solid waste management in Cape Maclear, Malawi

Improving solid waste management (SWM) can better public health locally and mitigate climate change globally. However, it requires thorough financing and business models. This study assessed the willingness to pay (WTP) of four stakeholder groups in the village Cape Maclear, Malawi, using the double-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation method as well as direct questions. Households (N 259) would be willing to pay an average of MWK 1507 (USD 0.90) per month if they did not have to separate their waste themselves, as opposed to MWK 899 (USD 0.54) per month if they had to separate their waste at the collection point. Lodges were willing to pay USD 13.00 per month for their own waste management and an additional USD 4.22 for public waste removal. The WTP of businesses was assumed to be zero due to an unrepresentative sample. Tourists were found to have an average WTP of USD 1.75 per day. We recommend a sustainable business model based on all cost and revenue streams of the system. Thereby, tourists show the greatest potential. Nevertheless, it is recommended to make the monthly operation of the system independent from external sources, but to use these sources for long-term investments and infrastructure improvements.