Abstract:
The study examined the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of residents of
Techimantia toward solid waste management. It specifically sought to; determine
residents’ knowledge on solid waste management; examine the values held by
residents towards solid waste management; assess solid waste disposal habits of
residents; and investigate the impacts of waste collection infrastructure on waste
management behaviour. The Theory of Planned Behaviour was applied to establish
the relationship between knowledge, attitudes and behaviour toward waste
management. Based on the pragmatic philosophy, the study adopted the mixed
methods research design and the concurrent convergent mixed methods approach. A
systematic sampling technique was used to select 384 respondents with a minimum of
secondary education or its equivalent. Another 10 participants were purposefully
chosen for in depth interview. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected at
the same time using interview schedule and interview guide respectively. The study
established that, residents have adequate knowledge on the state of their environment
– solid waste is a major environmental problem, they understand the implications of
indiscriminate waste disposal, have adequate knowledge on waste reduction strategy –
shopping with a durable bag and buying less packaged goods reduces waste
production and have high values for environmental cleanliness (I feel bad when I
dump waste anywhere) but these do not necessarily translate into proper waste
disposal practices. There is a gap between their knowledge, values and waste
management behaviour. It was therefore recommended that the Tano South Municipal
Assembly should form environmental advocate groups among residents and educate,
train and equip them with basic knowledge and skills on waste management.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Geography Education,
Faculty of Social Sciences, submitted to the School of
Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Philosophy
(Geography with Education)
in the University of Education, Winneba
JANUARY, 2023