The Role of Training Citizens in Domestic Waste Management (Case Study: The Region 8 of Tehran Municipality)

Today, population growth, modern life and changing patterns of consumption have led to the production of significant quantities of waste daily and lack of land for disposal of waste and the long-term residues of certain types of waste such as glass and plastic, leading to undesirable environmental effects (pollution of soil, water and air). So, waste management is important, especially for household waste and one of the solutions for this is the separation of household waste. Tehran Municipality has attempted to encourage its citizens towards waste separation over recent years. This study was aimed at investigating the role of training and knowledge in the management of residual household waste in District 8 of Tehran Municipality during 2015. Four hundred of residents of this district were selected by employing a quota-random sampling method and the information required was gathered through questionnaires. Analysis was conducted using SPSS software. The results showed the level of respondents’ knowledge about waste was high, but that citizen participation was at a medium level. The results of tests the hypotheses showed, statistically, there was a positive and direct relationship between training, the amount of training and knowledge about waste with waste separation behavior. No significant relationship was found between the demographic variables of age, sex, education and income on waste separation behavior. In general, the results of this study support empirically the effect of training on waste separation behavior by citizens and also presented the need to pay attention to other social and cultural factors. In other words, factors of training and improving knowledge cannot lead to the separation of waste alone and a comprehensive study should be undertaken alongside other factors influencing the behavior related to waste separation.