In Kigali, Rwanda, urbanization and increased affluence will increase the amount of waste. Currently, there is no sustainable disposal of the waste, as unsorted waste is deposited in an unsanitary landfill, which is beginning to fill up. The Rwandan government aims to create a circular economy and tries to address waste management, but few developments are taking place.
 
As there is a need for sustainable waste management solutions, this qualitative case study examines factors affecting the effectiveness of Kigali’s solid waste management (SWM) from the perspective of waste collection companies (WCCs), as these stakeholders’ views have not been explored before. Data were collected by means of observations, interviews, and a literature review.
 The current status of the SWM system and obstacles experienced by respondents are categorized using Wilson’s Wasteaware indicators (2015). Finally, results are examined by means of the dimensions of the Modernized Mixtures Approach (MMA) (Oosterveer & Spaargaren, 2010).
 
Analysis shows that links within Kigali’s SWM are unprepared to handle separated waste streams, inhibiting recycling. Further, there is a lack of knowledge on proper waste disposal among residents, while government educational attempts remain largely ineffective. Also, policies, issued by many different government agencies, are often contradicting. As no data are collected on the status of SWM, there is little monitoring of progress. Finally, WCCs face defaulters, leading to a weakened financial situation.
 
Recommendations from this research are to centralize the system, within both government and payment system. Breaking the identified ‘multilevel non-separation feedback loop’ may create opportunities to handle separated waste streams, thus enabling recycling. Using media to educate residents regarding source separation and a color-coding system for different waste streams is potentially successful and might break the loop. Gaining visibility into the status of the SWM, placing a weighbridge at the landfill would be a good start.