Knowledge, Attitude and Performance toward Solid Waste Management among the Residents of Ramshe

Solid waste management includes 8 stages including source reduction, production, storage, collection, transportation, recycling, disposal and monitoring after disposal. Production stage has a critical role on solid waste management process. Since people are the first ring of this chain, their awareness and proper attitude can lead to more accurate and more efficient performance of the system.

This was a descriptive, analytical survey performed with a cross-sectional approach. The study population included 90 people from an area called "Ramshe" in Isfahan. Subjects were questioned by a questionnaire. SPSS11.5 was used for data analysis.

The mean awareness was 8.05 ± 1.2 (out of 14) that was evaluated as higher than moderate. The mean attitude was 2.52 ± 2.3 (zero represented indifference) that shows the attitude of people was positive. 38.5% and 33.7% of respondents respectively introduced sanitary landfills and recycling as the best method for waste disposal. In addition, 64% of people believed that waste collection should be done twice a week. Furthermore, 38.3% believed that waste collection should be done between 7-9 a.m. While 32.3% of respondents partially disagreed with selling the waste to vendors, 29.3% were completely against it.

According to the findings of this survey, there was a significant relationship between awareness and job and education level. Due to a satisfactory level of awareness about the topic of the survey, influential factors on people's low performance should be evaluated. An appropriate plan to improve the performance should also be devised. A suitable and practical recycle plan with a maximum public participation seems to be very beneficial to improve solid waste management.