Community Views and Attitudes for Waste Management Improvement in a Higher Education Institute: Case Study

Abstract

The safe disposal technologies for waste is utmost important. Before planning and implementation of waste management systems, the views and attitudes of community (stakeholders) are very important. In this study, it was attempted to gather the views of community in the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna on environmental issues and waste management, and evaluate them for the improvement of waste management system towards sustainability. Questionnaire survey and informal discussions were carried out to gather information on waste management. Randomly selected sample was taken. Informal discussions were also held. Gathered data were analyzed through simple descriptive methods. Most of the respondents (96 %) know that environmental degradation is a serious problem due to improper disposal of solid wastes. Over 90 % of people know the waste management system practiced in the Faculty and its demerits. Eighty nine percents of people like to support and cooperate, activity for the waste management programs implemented in the Faculty and they also (69%) know that the cooperation is essential for the management of wastes. The people in the Faculty like to cooperate and participate for a proper waste management system. Therefore, their involvement should be encouraged for the development and implementation of waste management system in the Faculty.