Social factors influencing household solid waste minimisation

Abstract

The growth of the world's population, coupled with increasing urbanization, and rising standards of living, have all contributed to the increase in solid waste generation. Solid waste disposal is becoming a difficult problem for many countries. Thus, efficient recycling of solid wastes is now a global concern for a sustainable solid waste management. Solid waste minimization is one of the ways of reducing the quantity of wastes for disposal. This study examines the perception of households towards solid waste minimization. 100 respondents were randomly selected from Section 7 housing area in Shah Alam city, Malaysia. Descriptive statistical technique was used in analysing the data. Findings from the study showed that respondent's knowledge on waste minimization was above average. However, their level of knowledge as revealed further by the results is not in tandem with their attitude on waste minimization, which suggests that their attitude towards waste minimization is low. People who showed higher knowledge do not necessarily show concern or perform in solid waste minimisation. Therefore, local authorities must develop appropriate policy strategies to change the attitude and behaviour towards waste minimisation if they are to reach their statutory targets.