Recent Study on Measuring the Public Awareness toward Household Waste Management in Muharraq Governorate-Kingdom of Bahrain

Abstract

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generation is growing rapidly as compared to the rate of urbanization. Household waste management is considered a highly challenging task for Bahrain’s policy-makers, urban planners and municipalities due to rising population, burgeoning growth rate of waste generation, limited availability of land and scarce waste disposal sites. Public awareness represents a key enabler in order to succeed any sustainable waste management practice in the country. The survey aimed at gauging public awareness about household waste management in Muharraq Governorate and explored if there are any correlations between educational level, gender, occupation and age and area of living with the level of public awareness as well as its three components: knowledge, attitude and behaviour of the people in Muharraq Governorate. The results indicated the total awareness is significantly different across different age levels and nationality. Moreover, it shows a high public awareness toward household waste management among people in Muharraq Governorate, which indicated that the society is aware and has the basics to build on in terms of sustainable waste management practices and technologies adoption, which may help overcome the possible social barrier represented by low public awareness. The government was strongly recommended to prioritize reduce, reuse and recycle (3Rs) principle to prepare the society for more advanced technologies.