TITLE:
Assessing the Socio-Economic Impact of Solid-Waste Pollution on Local Communities and Tourism at Kigamboni Beach, Dar es Salaam
AUTHORS:
Robert Gasper Mollel, Msabaha Juma Mwendapole
KEYWORDS:
Coastal Litter, Tourism Economics, Household Livelihoods
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.13 No.9,
September
26,
2025
ABSTRACT: Solid-waste pollution is reshaping the social and economic landscape of urban shorelines, yet its livelihood costs remain under-measured in East Africa. This mixed-methods study quantifies how litter dominated by single-use plastics affects local communities and tourism at Kigamboni Beach, Dar es Salaam. Four 50 m transects logged 5,121 debris items, 93% of them plastic; beverage bottles and snack wrappers alone comprised 69%. Surveys of 56 enterprises and households, paired with 35 interviews, show tourism demand contracting sharply: hotel occupancy fell 22% and weekend beach-bed rentals 35% compared with 2019. Logistic regression indicates that when plastic density exceeds 15 items/m², beach-dependent households are 2.3 times likelier to report income decline (β = –0.83, p = 0.007). Monthly clean-up costs average TSh 6,000 for kiosks and TSh 140,000 for lodges, eroding thin profit margins. Thematic analysis reveals four reinforcing narratives Plastic Premiership, Visitor Flight, Livelihood Leakage, and Governance Gaps underscoring weak enforcement as the pivotal driver of persistent pollution. Findings advocate a ring-fenced coastal-enforcement unit, refundable container-deposit schemes, and micro-zoned waste management to convert Kigamboni’s plastic burden from economic liability to circular-economy resource.