REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
WASTE
There are many ways to define the word 'waste', also known as ‘garbage’, because of its association to many things. The Basel Convention defines wastes as "substances or objects which are disposed of or are intended to be disposed of or are required to be disposed of by the provisions of national law” (Basel Convention, 1989, p. 6).
According to the United Nations Statistics Division (n.d.), waste is defined as:
materials that are not prime products (that is, products produced for the market) for which the generator has no further use in terms of his or her own purposes of production, transformation or consumption, and of which he or she wants to dispose. Wastes may be generated during the extraction of raw materials, the processing of raw materials into intermediate and final products, the consumption of final products, and other human activities. (United Nations Statistics Division, n.d.)
The people must have knowledge about the classifications of wastes for proper waste management practices. There are eight classifications of wastes however it changes in some studies. The sources of wastes include:
Residential waste which is found in single and multifamily dwellings; Commercial waste which is found in stores, hotels, restaurants, markets, office buildings, etc.; Industrial waste which is found in light and heavy manufacturing, fabrication, construction sites, power and chemical plants; Institutional waste which is found in schools, hospitals, prisons, government centers; Construction and demolition wastes which are found in new construction sites, road repair, renovation sites, demolition of buildings; Municipal service waste which is found in street cleaning, landscaping, parks, beaches, other recreational areas, water and wastewater treatment plants; and process waste which is found in heavy and light manufacturing, refineries, chemical plants, power plants, mineral extraction and processing. (Hoornweg et al., 1999, p. 5)
This study will only focus on household solid waste, also known as residential or domestic waste, which literally means a household waste that is solid. It will not focus on any other classifications of waste.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Waste management is defined as “the collection, transportation, disposal or recycling and monitoring of waste” (“Waste Management Resources,” n.d., para. 1). There are many methods in managing wastes like segregation, incineration, and dumping and it is important to thoroughly choose a method that best suits an area. Several authors concluded that the commonly used methods in waste management are the 3R’s, meaning “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle” and these terms have become “a belief for sustainable management efforts” (as cited in Davidson, 2011, p. 8). Waste management practices differ from place to place because it incorporates “political, institutional, social, environmental, and economic aspects” (McAllister, 2015).
CASE STUDIES
This study will focus on waste management practices and some factors that molded the practices in Africa, India, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines.
The waste management study that was conducted in Africa, particularly in cities of Bamenda and Yaoundé, tackles the influence of globalization and urbanization with the management of solid wastes and solutions concerning waste management in Cameroon, Africa and many authors disputed that solid waste management problems are not because of minimal resources, it is because of other factors like "corruption, poor relationships between politicians and the general public, political apathy, command-and-control approaches, and dependency […] rapid urbanisation and population growth, the complex nature of the society, low standards of living and education, the attitude of the waste workers and the stagnating economy" (as cited in Achankeng, 2003, p. 18).
Similarly, Aklilu (2002) who conducted his research in Ethiopia and Chatterjee (2010) who conducted his research in India reasoned out that increasing generation of wastes and waste management practices that are being used have become major problems and these are due to “urbanization, increasing population, technology, human consumption patterns, limited resources, and industrialization.”
Yhdego (1995) found out that the practice of reusing non-biodegradable wastes is very common but the problem is "the lack of local or national markets for the recyclables" (as cited in Achankeng, 2003, p. 16). Most areas in Africa cannot consistently handle any waste management practices, being a developing country that limits the methods being used and adapted methods like incineration and composting are too much for them to sustain so they resort to pre-collection from houses by garbage trucks, composting and they reuse things, which is pretty common to the poor in the area, for household purposes but there is still no steady waste management practices in most places in Africa thus the people who have influence and power have the ability to deal with these problems for the greater good (Achankeng, 2003).
The research study done by Chatterjee (2010) observed that the practice of recycling is the most common in India, either by segregation or selling wastes to rag pickers, and the responsibility of the management of wastes lies with the council. There are color bins in an area for the collection of segregated biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes with different vehicles used to collect these wastes and that these are generally dumped or burnt in a chosen area (Chatterjee, 2010).
The study of Hakami et al. (2015) in Saudi Arabia stated that organic materials that are used for fertilizing plants and plastics are two of the common wastes in household solid waste management and that recycling is the commonly used. It was observed that those who have high income generate more wastes like packaged food and disposal material and those who have low income generate more wastes that are organic and it is the responsibility of the mother, the father, and the female adult to manage household solid wastes (Hakami et al., 2015).
Some factors influencing waste management in India, Africa, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia are similar to each other. The studies in India and Africa both give the responsibility to the officials but in Saudi Arabia, the responsibilities are given to the parents and the older female. In Africa, reusing of the 3R’s is a common practice. In India, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia, segregation and recycling are the preferred methods. Reducing of the 3R’s is the least preferred practice according to these studies conducted in India, Africa, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia. Reducing wastes is possible even if urbanization causes the increasing of waste generated. By changing lifestyles and traditions, household solid wastes can be reduced (Hakami et al., 2015, p. 7).
Several authors concluded that socio-economic characteristics like “income, education, and household sizes” affect environmental behavior, and “environmental knowledge, perception, and awareness” is related to environmental behavior (as cited in Del Mundo et al., 2009, p. 28).
In research study conducted in the Barangays Talisay and Balibago in Calatagan, Batangas that analyzed the relationship of socio-economic status, environmental awareness, knowledge, and perception on solid waste management practices, the people have a lot of knowledge about the environment but only a few know about environmental laws concerning solid waste management so people burn their wastes for their own comfort and practice open dumping causing some issues (Del Mundo et al., 2009, p. 36).
Also it was found out, using a statistical analysis, that the family income and the awareness are not closely connected with solid waste management practices while environmental knowledge and perception are closely related with solid waste management practices in both barangays. Both barangays differ in terms of household size and educational attainment, in Barangay Talisay not having a close relationship with solid waste management practices and in Barangay Balibago having a close relationship with solid waste management practices (Del Mundo et al., 2009, p. 36).
The research study done by Tatlonghari & Jamias (2010) also analyzed the relationship of socioeconomic characteristics (age, gender, education, income) with knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the residents of San Lorenzo South in Sta. Rosa, Laguna on solid waste management and it was observed that most of the residents know about environmental knowledge as well as solid waste management concepts like reduce, reuse, recycle and segregating wastes (distinguishing biodegradable from non-biodegradable wastes) and also assumed responsibility.
The respondents, who were mostly women and middle age adults, have similarities in terms of educational attainment, at least high school graduates who admitted to burning of wastes and some did not realize their pattern in recycling biodegradable materials. Some respondents were not aware to the solid waste management projects done in their area (Tatlonghari & Jamias, 2010).
Majority of the studies mentioned do not have a clear, maintained waste management practices, being developing countries. Segregation and recycling are methods that are commonly practiced based on the studies. Socio-economic factors influenced waste management practices according to some studies. Wastes start in the households so wastes should be properly handled first in the households, to prevent even bigger problems in a wider area concerning the health and the environment.