Abstract
The growth of the world's population, coupled with increasing urbanization, and rising standards of living, have all contributed to the increase in solid waste generation. Solid waste disposal is becoming a difficult problem for many countries. Thus, efficient recycling of solid wastes is now a global concern for a sustainable solid waste management. Solid waste minimization is one of the ways of reducing the quantity of wastes for disposal. This study examines the perception of households towards solid waste minimization. 100 respondents were randomly selected from Section 7 housing area in Shah Alam city, Malaysia. Descriptive statistical technique was used in analysing the data. Findings from the study showed that respondent's knowledge on waste minimization was above average. However, their level of knowledge as revealed further by the results is not in tandem with their attitude on waste minimization, which suggests that their attitude towards waste minimization is low. People who showed higher knowledge do not necessarily show concern or perform in solid waste minimisation. Therefore, local authorities must develop appropriate policy strategies to change the attitude and behaviour towards waste minimisation if they are to reach their statutory targets.
Highlights
In the past two decades, solid waste management has become a major concern and is one of the subjects discussed by the policy makers and planners
The level of knowledge the respondents have on solid waste minimisation as shown by the results of the study is high
This high level of knowledge has not translated to rapid decline in household solid waste generation due to the fact that the respondents are not aware of government's initiative on solid waste minimisation
Summary
In the past two decades, solid waste management has become a major concern and is one of the subjects discussed by the policy makers and planners. The highest solid waste generated in Malaysia is from residential sector, [15]. Annual growth rate of solid waste generation from household sector in Malaysian is continuously rising because of increasing urbanisation and rising standards of living. In Peninsular Malaysia (West Malaysia), the daily generation of waste escalated from 13,000 tonnes in 1996 to 19,100 tonnes in 2006. 75% from this waste is disposed in landfills and dumps. An estimated 20% is burned or dumped into rivers or at illegal sites, while around 5% is recycled, [23]. Adopting an effective waste minimisation strategy by government is seen as another approach of sustainable municipal waste management
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