Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Concerning Municipal Solid Waste Recycling among the people in Gilangharb, Iran

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Concerning Municipal Solid Waste Recycling among the people in Gilangharb, Iran"

Kevin Morton
5 years ago
Views:

1 International Research Journal of Applied and Basic Sciences 2016 Available online at ISSN X / Vol, 10 (2): Science Explorer Publications Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Concerning Municipal Solid Waste Recycling among the people in Gilangharb, Iran Syyed Alireza Mousavi 1 *, Maryam Khashij 2, Mojtaba Salmani 3 1. Environmental Health Engineering Department, Faculty of Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran. 2. Research center environmental determinants of health, Faculty of Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran. 3. Environmental Health Engineering Department, Faculty of Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran. Corresponding Author: Syyed Alireza Mousavi ABSTRACT: This study investigated the knowledge, attitude and practices of peoples related to municipal solid waste recycling, in Gilangharb, Iran. The methodology relied on a questionnaire and study was administrated to 378 people randomly sampled. Data were collected and analyzed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study showed that the level of knowledge about waste recycling was relatively high (88.6%) and people s attitude was positive (97.3%) but practice on solid waste recycling was inadequate and an approximately the half of the respondents had poor practice. A significant positive correlation was observed between practices with attitudes (r=0.318, p < 0.001), knowledge with attitudes (r=0.141, p < 0.01), but knowledge with practices was not significant (p > 0.1). Although knowledge of waste recycle considered to be beneficial, but does not automatically mean that this behavior will be followed. So, to improve the people s practices, continuous education and training toward regulations for a more effective and efficient practices related to solid waste recycling plan are also necessary. The regulations should indicate the appropriate authority to define and implement waste recycling regulations. Keywords: Attitude, Knowledge, Practices, Recycling, Gilangharb INTRODUCTION Surrounding environment is continuously changing. The increasingly flow of municipal solid waste is a large environmental problem in many countries (Anghinolfi, Paolucci et al. 2013; Moh and Manaf 2014; Gug, Cacciola et al. 2015). The increasing production of solid waste is one of the effects of fast expansion of urban, agricultural and industrial activities spurred by rapid population growth and rising of living standards(afroz, Hanaki et al. 2011). Globally, the estimated quantity of solid wastes expected to be generated annually by the year 2025 is about 19 billion tons(bari, Hassan et al. 2012). So the world is facing a lot of waste that need to management. In the last several years, much attention has been given to environmental effects of municipal solid waste in the developing countries. Iran is also one of them and according to the reports, high volume of waste is generated in cites of Iran(Nasrabadi and Mohammadnejad 2008; Moghadam, Mokhtarani et al. 2009). For example, each citizen in Iran generated solid waste equal to 6 times his/her own body weight which is 320 kg of waste in year. This overall production rate of MSW generally consist of around 20 different categories such as food waste, plastics, metals, paper, cardboard and so on(kalanatarifard and Yang 2012). In view of the overall composition or type of the waste, management strategies is inevitable. Among the methods of MSW management, Recycling is widely known to be an environmentally-friendly strategy and the most appropriate approach to effectively manage MSW for minimizing its negative impact on the environment(agarwal, Singhmar et al. 2005; Wibowo and Deng 2015). Furthermore, this method is cost effective by reducing management costs and no need to land filling(louis and Shih 2007; Anghinolfi, Paolucci et al. 2013; Mulliner, Smallbone et al. 2013).For example, in Japan (2008), an electric power generation efficiency of incineration plants was merely 11% (Fujii, Fujita et al. 2012). The

2 Organization of Solid Wastes Disposal predicts if half of the papers in solid wastes are recycled, it will be equal to maintaining 8 million hectares of forests. In Poland, 12 million tonnes of municipal waste is produced yearly, out of which 10 million tonnes is collected, wherefrom 0.86 million tonnes (8.6%) is recycled(den Boer, Jędrczak et al. 2010). Indeed solid waste management should be gearing the waste as resource and income approach. Besides serving the purpose of decreasing the amount of daily waste disposal, utilizing waste as resources for local production could generate from dumpsites, along city streets and other public places in exchange for income13. In this regard, there are several problems in order smart recycle such as recyclable materials are mixed together and need to be sorted; unsorted municipal waste is worthless and they are contaminated with organic substance and other pollutants. It s significant that this part of the problems in the field of recycling of solid waste related to knowledge and attitudes people regarding the separation at origin. Finally, In order to improve the participation of people in municipal solid waste recycling, it is necessary evaluation of (knowledge, attitude and practices) and their relationship with each other. Considering that Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding MSW recycling have not been studied in Gilangharb. The city of Gilangharb is located in the western part of Iran with a population of about During the last years, the population of Gilangharb city has increased. With this increase in population, the amount and types of solid wastes are changing continuously. So that now the volume of waste generated daily in the city reached to tonnes. With this background, a knowledge, attitude, and practice analysis may provide an insight into the intrinsic factors and help understand the reasons for recycling of MSW. Based on the theoretical framework and empirical evidence, the present research study explores, through a questionnaire based survey, the following issues: (1) the level of knowledge and attitude regarding municipal solid waste recycling among people at Gilangharb (2) their practices and willingness to act in waste related activities. MATERIAL AND METHODS The cross-sectional study took place in2014. The Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Kermanshah people on solid waste recycling have been investigated. The population study was composed of people living in the city of Gilangharb. The sample size was calculated based on a confidence level of 95% (0.95) with p = 0.5 (z = 1.96) based on Cochran formula which that it s the outcome of a study conducted by the researchers, resulting in a sample of 378 people. The operational structure used for data collection was through questionnaires and face to face interviews. The questionnaire was designed into four sections. Section 1 included demographic data namely respondent s age, sex, field of duty, work experience and marital status. Section 2 (knowledge) included 12 questions; each question consisted of four answers. The knowledge section was designed in order to measurement of factual knowledge and knowledge from personal experience related to solid waste and municipal waste management system. Section 3 (Attitude) included 17 questions that it s consist of four questions with two possible answers, Yes and No and 13 questions with four answers. This section, questioned peoples about their attitude regarding the municipal solid waste recycling. Section 4 of the questionnaire contained 8 questions about of practices on recycling of waste. Questions of this section were under the following criteria such as: training from organs, performance about delay of waste collection, How to elimination of waste and etc. Indeed, this section of the questionnaire took into account the analysis of the level of concern and willingness to act of the peoples, through specific questions such as: How would you be willing to contribute an improvement for the waste recycles system in your town? For measured of answers, using scale of statement (very low to very good).the best score for knowledge and practice was 20, followed as: (16-20) = very good, (12-16) = good, (8-12) = moderate, (4-8) = low and (0-4) = very low. The attitude question was classified to Likert scales. The recorded responses on questionnaires were entered into the computer. Data were compiled and analyzed with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 20. The descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data and results presented using charts and percentages. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The demographic characteristics of 378 people living in Gilangharb, (city in Kermanshah, Iran) are represented in Fig 1. The sample consisted of 378 respondents: 184 females and 194 males with 82.3% aged between 20 to 40 years. From total respondents surveyed, only 8.7% and 8.5% were aged lower 20 and between years, respectively and only 0.5% were aged above 60 years. Majority of the people in the study were Married (72%) and others were single (28%).In addition, 44% of respondents had an academic degree. As well as, majority and minority of respondents were employee (28.5%) and worker (10.6%), respectively indicating that most of the people were educated. 136

3 Figure 1. Demographic characteristics of the Gilangharb people Figure 2. The level of Knowledge of participants Figure 3. %Frequency based on the awareness for the recycling plans 137

4 The level of Knowledge To properly carry out this type of study it is important to provide definitions for Knowledge. Knowledge is a set of comprehensions. It is also one s imagining capacity in direct to perceiving. According to results participants acquired more correct answers with the questions that are related to solid waste recycling, thus, indicating good knowledge. The result in Fig 2 shows that the knowledge level of 64% of the Gilangharb people was very good, while knowledge of 1.1% was low. Given that the majority of participants were young respondents (20-40 years old) and they have an academic education so responses were not unexpected. Although the percentage of people who had low awareness, it s due to poor performance of administrative system and municipal. Previous research found that training increased knowledge regarding waste recycling issues (Metin, Eröztürk et al. 2003; Martin, Williams et al. 2006; Bohm, Folz et al. 2010). As illustrated in Fig 3, Awareness through TV and radio will be allocated majority of the respondents(62%).therefore, spreading knowledge through media such as newspapers, magazines, television and radio(khan, Faisal et al.) about recycling programs and environmental conservation would induce waste control habits in peoples as well. Additionally, study by Hamidul Bari et al(2012)reported that knowledge of waste recycle considered to be beneficial, however, does not automatically mean that this behavior will be followed(bari, Hassan et al. 2012).Many of the people (87.6%) were aware of the recyclables from solid waste production and substances that cause odor in controlling environmental protection and it is well known that if waste generated controls are inadequately performed will lead to the different problems. The difference between educational level (p-value <0.05) and job (pvalue <0.01) was significant with awareness of the recyclable waste. The results indicated that people in general were more aware of compostable material and more knowledgeable about materials that were compostable in the local area and the means for recycling these materials and its difference with job and marital status was significant (p-value <0.001 and 0.05) respectively. The level of Attitude According to definition, attitude is a way of being, a position. Attitude is an influencing factor that may affect on practice. Survey consisting of 17 questions was conducted (Fig 4), attitudes of the people about of recyclable waste were favorable with total mean scores of ± 9.06.The data showed that 83.3% of people willing to participate in recycling program, and an approximately54% agreed that distributing plastic bags is the best approach to people encourage to waste separation at source and recycling. Other methods in this regard financial incentives to by lottery (22.2%), buying recyclable from people (19.8%) and replacement with iodized salt (4%) and our result support the findings of study (Owusu et al)(owusu, Adjei-Addo et al. 2013).The same tendencies are found by Refsgaard, who report that factors contributing to positive attitudes towards and an increase in recycling behavior including: specific and individual information, belief about significant effects, easy and user-friendly systems and price incentives(refsgaard and Magnussen 2009).In our study indicate that participation in solid waste recycling activities depends on the level of awareness and attitude of recycling activities in the age with significant level (p-value <0.05), job (p-value <0.001), educational level (0.01) and gender (0.05). Banqa stated although the public is aware of recycling practices, it has not participated in such initiatives. Therefore, argued that increasing accessibility to recycling facilities is the best means of promoting positive attitudes to solid waste activities(banga 2011). Figure 4. The level of the attitude of participants 138

5 The level of Practices Practices or behaviors are the observable actions of an individual in response to a stimulus. Practices are extremely important to ensure that the recycling is benefit for the people. Fig 5depicts that the practices level of 46.6% of the Gilangharb people was low and only practices of 13.5% was good. Unfortunately, data from Fig 5 indicate people's poor performance. This result does not support the findings of previous studies (Desa et al, Refsgaard et al) which suggest that practices is affected by a person s knowledge and awareness, public verbal commitment and his/her sense of responsibility(refsgaard and Magnussen 2009; Desa, Kadir et al. 2012). In a recent study Desa et al showed high practice levels of solid waste management. This is due to value cleanliness and want to mitigate the possible disease occurrences but development of attitudes and willingness to reduce problems related to solid waste is necessity(desa, Kadir et al. 2012). To achieve this, their suggestion for change practices is developed waste education and awareness strategy. Figure 5. The level of Practices of participants Addition the respondents' responses in terms of 4 types of practices are represented in Table 1.The percentage of respondents' stating about separating waste at home was 63% and for revenues from waste recycling was 19%. A statistically significant relationship was found between education level and separating waste at home (p-value <0.001). It s also results revealed that peoples willingness to separate different parts of waste have a statistically significant relationship (p-value < 0.05) with the age, job and marital status. Table 1. Respondents' responses concerning types of practices Types of practices %Percentage Action to separating waste at home Yes 63 No 37 Preferred to separate different parts of waste Bread waste 41.8 Garbage fraction 8.5 Paper & Cardboard 21.7 Metals and Glass 12.7 Plastic 15.3 What do you do with recycled materials? Sell to Peddlers 54.5 Delivery to municipal 41.5 Maintain and Reuse 4 Revenues from waste recycling Yes 19 No 65.3 Unaware 15.6 CONCLUSIONS The study assessed knowledge, attitude and practices on municipal solid waste recycling among the people in Gilangharb (city of Kermanshah, Iran). The study established that there was adequate knowledge by peoples who are the main generators of waste on the need for a clean environment and their responsibility in ensuring this is achieved. Peoples have a positive attitude toward waste recycling but people s practice was poor. In conclusion, this study suggests that in order to improve the people s practices, continuous education and training 139

6 should be strong. In the next step, regulations for a more effective and efficient practices related to solid waste recycling plan are also necessary. The regulations should indicate the appropriate authority to define and implement waste recycling regulations. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank all responsible people in the Gilangharb City for their kind help with this research. REFERENCES Afroz, R., K. Hanaki, et al. (2011). "Factors affecting waste generation: a study in a waste management program in Dhaka City, Bangladesh." Environmental monitoring and assessment 179(1-4): Agarwal, A., A. Singhmar, et al. (2005). "Municipal solid waste recycling and associated markets in Delhi, India." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 44(1): Anghinolfi, D., M. Paolucci, et al. (2013). "A dynamic optimization model for solid waste recycling." Waste Management 33(2): Banga, M. (2011). "Household Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices in Solid Waste Segregation and Recycling: The Case of Urban K ampala." Zambia Social Science Journal 2(1): 4. Bari, Q. H., K. M. Hassan, et al. (2012). "Solid waste recycling in Rajshahi city of Bangladesh." Waste Management 32(11): Bohm, R. A., D. H. Folz, et al. (2010). "The costs of municipal waste and recycling programs." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 54(11): den Boer, E., A. Jędrczak, et al. (2010). "A review of municipal solid waste composition and quantities in Poland." Waste Man agement 30(3): Desa, A., N. B. y. A. Kadir, et al. (2012). "Waste education and awareness strategy: towards solid waste management (SWM) program at UKM." Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 59: Fujii, M., T. Fujita, et al. (2012). "Smart recycling of organic solid wastes in an environmentally sustainable society." Res ources, Conservation and Recycling 63: 1-8. Gug, J., D. Cacciola, et al. (2015). "Processing and properties of a solid energy fuel from municipal solid waste (MSW) and r ecycled plastics." Waste Management 35: Kalanatarifard, A. and G. S. Yang (2012). "Identification of the municipal solid waste characteristics and potential of plastic recovery at Bakri Landfill, Muar, Malaysia." Journal of Sustainable Development 5(7): p11. Khan, S., M. Faisal, et al. "Evaluating People's Attitudes and Participation in Municipal Solid Waste Management: A Comparative Study in India and Qatar." Louis, G. and J.-S. Shih (2007). "A flexible inventory model for municipal solid waste recycling." Socio-Economic Planning Sciences 41(1): Martin, M., I. Williams, et al. (2006). "Social, cultural and structural influences on household waste recycling: a case study." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 48(4): Metin, E., A. Eröztürk, et al. (2003). "Solid waste management practices and review of recovery and recycling operations in T urkey." Waste Management 23(5): Moghadam, M. A., N. Mokhtarani, et al. (2009). "Municipal solid waste management in Rasht City, Iran." Waste Management 29(1): Moh, Y. C. and L. A. Manaf (2014). "Overview of household solid waste recycling policy status and challenges in Malaysia." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 82: Mulliner, E., K. Smallbone, et al. (2013). "An assessment of sustainable housing affordability using a multiple criteria decision making method." Omega 41(2): Nasrabadi, T. and S. Mohammadnejad (2008). "Evaluating Citizen Attitudes and Participation in Solid Waste." Owusu, V., E. Adjei-Addo, et al. (2013). "Do economic incentives affect attitudes to solid waste source separation? Evidence from Ghana." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 78: Refsgaard, K. and K. Magnussen (2009). "Household behaviour and attitudes with respect to recycling food waste experiences from focus groups." Journal of Environmental management 90(2): Wibowo, S. and H. Deng (2015). "Multi-criteria group decision making for evaluating the performance of e-waste recycling programs under uncertainty." Waste Management 40:

[SV 6] IMPLEMENTATION OF REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE IN UUM CAMPUS. Utara Malaysia, UUM Sintok, Kedah 1,

[SV 6] IMPLEMENTATION OF REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE IN UUM CAMPUS Lim Siew Ping 1 & Mohd Hanizan Zalazilah 2 1-2 School of Technology Management and Logistics, College of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia,