Students' waste management practices, encompassing knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP), are influenced by a complex interaction of gender dynamics, family structure, living arrangements, socioeconomic factors, and the overall enabling environment (such as municipal infrastructure).
I. Family Structure and Living Arrangements (Strong
Predictors):
- Living
with Parents: This is a key predictor of more comprehensive waste
management practices. Students who live with their parents
engage in more waste reuse and overall better waste management behaviors
than those living independently. Students living with family are 3.834
times more likely to participate in waste management activities than
those living independently. This benefit is attributed to the
reinforcement from family members, the influence of structured household
routines, and shared disposal responsibilities.
- Joint
Families: Students from joint families show significantly
higher knowledge of segregation and overall knowledge of waste
management compared to students from nuclear families. This is because
joint family settings facilitate the intergenerational transfer of
knowledge and routines and institutionalize sustainable practices.
II. Gender Dynamics:
- Higher
Female Engagement: Female students generally exhibit significantly
higher knowledge regarding reuse, possess more positive attitudes,
and engage greater segregation practices compared to their male
counterparts. This is often due to women traditionally being responsible
for daily waste sorting and disposal within the household.
- Role
of Male Responsibility: Households where males are responsible for
managing household waste were associated with significantly lower
recycling knowledge among students compared to those managed by
females.
III. Socioeconomic and Educational Factors:
- Remittance
Impact: Households receiving remittances show a less positive
attitude toward waste segregation due to prioritizing convenience and
high consumption patterns.
- Parental
Education and Occupation: In the context of the Bhaktapur study, the parental
educational level (mother's or father's) and father’s occupation do
not significantly influence students’ overall knowledge, attitude, or
practice in household waste management. This suggests that factors like
accessible infrastructure and municipal support play a greater role than
parental education alone in shaping youth behavior in this context.
- KAP
Relationship: When students have good knowledge, their
attitudes tend to improve, which in turn promotes better practices.
IV. Enabling Environment and Infrastructure:
- The
effectiveness of the municipal system and the availability of
infrastructure, such as in Bhaktapur Municipality, can support moderate to
high practice levels among students, despite existing knowledge gaps.
- The
gap between knowledge and practice persists, even with positive attitudes.
Therefore, consistent, high-quality waste management behaviors require
support from schools, families, and policymakers, including integrating
environmental education into curricula and addressing structural barriers.
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