Assessing the knowledge, attitude, and practice among UTHM community towards scheduled waste management in UTHM

Abstract

Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) laboratory is the major source of scheduled waste (SW) production which impacts human health and the environment if it is not well-managed. Therefore, management of SW involves serious cooperation from all SW generators (SWG), from students to both academic and non-academic staff in an educational institution. The purpose of the research is to understand the current status of SWG's knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) in managing SW generated from laboratories activities in UTHM. The data gathering tool was a questionnaire with 30 questions its reliability and validity were approved. The survey consists of four sections: demographic (5 questions), knowledge (10 questions), attitude (10 questions), and practice (10 questions) were set. Data were analysed by using SPSS software version 25 for descriptive statistics, frequencies, and Spearman correlation test. The KAP evaluation finding indicated a High-Level in scheduled waste management (SWM) knowledge among the UTHM community ( x¯ = 8.73). However, their attitudes and practices were at a Moderate-Level with attitude ( x¯ = 26.82) and practice ( x¯ = 22.61). Positive but weak correlation between SWGs attitude and practices discovered (r = 0.315, p < 0.05). Therefore, guidance for institution's SWM program should provide knowledge, attitude and practices to the students and staff by publishing articles, hands-on training, or any environmental-related program to raise their awareness and enhance their attitude and practices toward SWM program.