Impact of family income and size on per capita solid waste generation: A case study in Manmunai North Divisional Secretariat Division of Batticaloa

K Sivakumar,M Sugirtharan

doi:10.4038/josuk.v5i0.4087

Abstract

The generation of solid waste has become an increasing environmental and public health problem everywhere in the world, especially in developing countries. The rate of generation of solid waste in the society is increasing with an increase of population, technological development, and the changes in the life styles of the people. As family size and income are the most significant factors affecting the quantity of solid waste from household consumption, a study on the relationship among these is vital in the decision making on waste management strategies. Therefore, a study was conducted at Manmunai North Divisional Secretariat areas of Batticaloa district to find out the correlation among residential solid waste generation, family size and income. The household sector is one of the primary sources of solid wastes in the study area. This study covered 100 houses with different socioeconomic levels such as income level and family size. There were six components of solid waste; food waste, paper, polyethylene, plastic, glass and metal which were evaluated in this study.Present study revealed that residential solid waste generation showed non-significant positive correlation (r = 0.184, p>0.05) with monthly income whereas significant positive correlation (r = 0.476, p<0.01) was found with the family size. Based on monthly income, generation of food, paper, plastic and glass waste showed non-significant positive correlation while non-significant negative correlation was found with polyethylene waste. Further, residential waste generation such as food, paper, plastic and metal showed significant positive correlation with family size whereas generation of glass and polyethylene waste showed non-significant positive correlation with family size.Keywords: Family size, Food waste, Income level, Plastics, Solid wasteDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/josuk.v5i0.4087 J Sci.Univ.Kelaniya 5 (2010): 13-23

Highlights

Solid wastes are the materials which arise from various human and animal activities and discarded as useless or unwanted (Rana, 2007)
The principal hypothesis of this study is that residential waste generation increases with increasing family size and income
(b) Family size Based on questionnaire survey, 100 households were selected with vast variation in family size

Summary

Introduction

Solid wastes are the materials which arise from various human and animal activities and discarded as useless or unwanted (Rana, 2007). The per capita amounts of municipal solid waste generated on a daily basis vary significantly (WRI, 1996). Globalization can promote economic growth, a desirable outcome This economic growth in addition to population increase and urbanization will seriously strain municipal resources to deal with booming amounts of wastes (Medina, 2002). Solid waste generation depends on the economy of the people and level of income of the family or individual. NECCDEP (2008) reported that about 60 to 80 tons solid waste are generated per day in MN area and from this only 40 to 45 tonnes are collected for Impact of family income disposal. This study only deals with household sector in order to find out correlation between solid waste generation and socioeconomic factors such as income level and family size. The principal hypothesis of this study is that residential waste generation increases with increasing family size and income

Methods

Results

Conclusion