Solid waste management; knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of residents of Techimantia, Ahafo Region, Ghana

Abstract

The study examined the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of residents of Techimantia toward solid waste management. It specifically sought to; determine residents’ knowledge on solid waste management; examine the values held by residents towards solid waste management; assess solid waste disposal habits of residents; and investigate the impacts of waste collection infrastructure on waste management behaviour. The Theory of Planned Behaviour was applied to establish the relationship between knowledge, attitudes and behaviour toward waste management. Based on the pragmatic philosophy, the study adopted the mixed methods research design and the concurrent convergent mixed methods approach. A systematic sampling technique was used to select 384 respondents with a minimum of secondary education or its equivalent. Another 10 participants were purposefully chosen for in depth interview. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected at the same time using interview schedule and interview guide respectively. The study established that, residents have adequate knowledge on the state of their environment – solid waste is a major environmental problem, they understand the implications of indiscriminate waste disposal, have adequate knowledge on waste reduction strategy – shopping with a durable bag and buying less packaged goods reduces waste production and have high values for environmental cleanliness (I feel bad when I dump waste anywhere) but these do not necessarily translate into proper waste disposal practices. There is a gap between their knowledge, values and waste management behaviour. It was therefore recommended that the Tano South Municipal Assembly should form environmental advocate groups among residents and educate, train and equip them with basic knowledge and skills on waste management.