Perception and Factors associated with Zero Waste Lifestyle among University Students in Medical Faculty, Udayana University, Bali

Abstract

Zero waste is a concept of managing waste in sustainable way by minimizing the waste to the minimum level. The adoption of this concept in Indonesia remain limited which causing overburden to landfills and the environment. University students have a good access to updated information on Zero Waste, thus are more ready in accepting the concept. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior, this study explored zero waste behavior and psychosocial factors affecting the behavior. A cross-sectional design is applied for online survey on 122 university students enrolled in Medical Faculty of Udayana University, who were selected using systematic random sampling. Information includes demographic characteristics, behavior, attitude, perceived benefit, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and moral value relevant to Zero Waste concept. Bivariate and multivariate analysis were performed using simple logistic regression and binary logistic regression. Results show that 51.6% of respondents have good behavior regarding zero waste and 50.8% have positive attitude towards zero waste lifestyle. Bivariate analysis shows that students with high perceived benefit (OR 2.12), positive subjective norms (OR 2.36), less perception on barriers (OR 2.63) and positive moral value (OR 2.37) are more likely to perform zero waste behavior (p<0.05). From multivariate analysis, factors that associated with good behavior are gender (AOR=3.68; 95%CI=1.40-9.70), access to information (AOR=2.39; 95%CI=1.09-5.26), and moral values (AOR=2.23; 95%CI=1.03-4.81). These findings indicate that only half respondents adopting zero waste concept. Education and promotion targeting young generation in shaping values and norms towards the environments can support the adoption of zero waste lifestyle.