Poverty and urban unemployment are the major economic challenges to the city of Addis Ababa.rnTo solve these problems, emphasis is placed on creating job opportunities in five core areas,rnwaste collection activity, being one of the concerns of the municipality gained due attention.rnConsequently, the city government empowered Micro and small scale enterprises organizingrnoffice at woreda level with mandate to organize people who are supposed to be poor and willingrnto work in solid waste collection. Thus, the offices register those people willing to engage inrnwaste collection. This study was conducted so as to investigate ihe salient features of door-to-door primary solidrnwaste collection service provided by cooperatives in Arada sub-city .And most importantly tornidentifY the challenges faced the coops and opportunities occurred due to the involvement ofrncooperatives in waste collection activity. The required data were gathered through documentrninspection, survey questionnaire, interviews, and case study and observation list.rnCooperatives under study faced many challenges in their activities. Absence of vehicles and lackrnof equipment were the major challenges to deliver the services frequently and effectively.rnInadequate payment, delay in payment, lack of access to safety clothes and medical servicernaffected their operation. The engagement of cooperatives in waste collection activity contributed a lot to the workers,rnmunicipality and the service recipients. Their participation in the activity increased thernemployment opportunity and became income source for the poor. The municipality also benefitedrndue to their involvement in municipal solid waste collection. Their role bridged the gap, in wasterncollection between the service recipients and the municipality(municipal containers}andrnincreased the service coverage and waste collection frequency in the study area. The servicernrecipients also confirmed that there is improvement in solid waste situation of their surroundingrndue to the involvement of the cooperatives in waste collection services. They can also save theirrntime and labor.