Households’ knowledge attitude and practices in solid waste management a case of the coastal barangays in los baños laguna philippines

SUMADSAD BACHELOR THESIS Thai Nguyen, 20/11/2017 HOUSEHOLDS’ KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICES IN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT: A CASE OF THE COASTAL BARANGAYS OF LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA, PHILIPP

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY

MARTINA P SUMADSAD

BACHELOR THESIS

Thai Nguyen, 20/11/2017

HOUSEHOLDS’ KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICES IN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT: A CASE OF THE COASTAL BARANGAYS OF LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA, PHILIPPINES

DOCUMENTATION PAGE WITH ABSTRACT

Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry

Degree Program Bachelor of Environmental Science and Management Student Name Martina P Sumadsad

Thesis Title

Households’ Knowledge, Attitude and Practices in Solid Waste Management: A Case of the Coastal Barangays in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines

Supervisors Dr Carmelita Rebancos

Assistant Prof Do Thi Ngoc Oanh Supervisor’s Signature

Abstract:

Solid Waste Management (SWM) refers to the lessening and/or elimination of adverse environmental and health impacts of improper disposal and treatment of solid wastes Thus, the study used descriptive statistics and likert-scale to determine the households’ knowledge, attitude and practices in solid waste management in coastal barangays of Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines Among the randomly selected 148 respondents, the study therefore concluded that the respondents were highly knowledgeable in terms of solid waste management, having an average weighted mean of 4.36 Also, the respondents showed a positive attitude in relation to solid waste management, having an average weighted mean of 4.12 As for the practices of the respondents in terms of proper disposal of solid wastes, the study showed that, 84.46% practices proper disposal of solid wastes such as 3R, segregation, composting, feeding to animals and selling However, there were still 15.54% which does not practice proper disposal of solid waste such as dumping of wastes in any water system, burning, burying and depending on waste collectors Therefore, the study concluded that having high knowledge and positive attitude in solid waste management will be considered irrelevant if the people would still practice improper disposal of solid wastes, as the practices is what manifests in the environment Thus, driving forces (e.g use of RA 9003 and the penalties thereof) should be taken into consideration to oblige the residents to know and take into action their responsibilities in solid waste management

Keywords: Solid wastes, Solid Waste Management, Knowledge,

Attitude, Practices

Date of Submission November 20, 2017

DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY

I certify that this Special Problem Report is my own work and that any idea, technique, quotation or material from other sources, published or otherwise, are acknowledged in accordance with standard referencing practices Furthermore,

I declare that this report or a significant part of it has not been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma

at other educational institutions

_

MARTINA P SUMADSAD

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, I would like to thank God the Father for giving me

strength and wisdom all throughout my study and to CCBCF family for the non-stop support and prayers

I also would like to thank the Advance Education Program (AEP) of Thai

Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry (TUAF) for giving me the opportunity

to conduct my study abroad, and to the Office of International Linkages (OIL) of University of the Philippines – Los Baños (UPLB) for accommodating me

throughout my short term research in the Philippines

To the government officials of Los Baños, and barangay officials of Baybayin, Bayog, Malinta, Mayondon and Tadlac for allowing me to conduct my study at their barangays and providing me all the help and tools I need to accomplish the objectives

of my study Thank you

Likewise, I would like to give my utmost gratitude to my research supervisors;

to Dr Carmelita Rebancos for the “walang sawang” support and guidance from my thesis proposal until the final revisions of my manuscript, and to Dr Do Thi Ngoc Oanh, for helping me until the last minutes of my manuscript revision, specifically to

my statistical analyses

Also, to my family (Ma, De, Leah, Lola Lila, Tita eva, Ate Jopay, Kuya Cocoy, Kuya Bex and family, Ate Tet and family) for the endless support financially and emotionally, also for helping me with my data gathering To Ate Chin and Ate Bea for being my secondary “strict” advisers throughout my writing

In the same way, I would like to give thanks to all of my friends for the words

of encouragements and motivations not just during my manuscript writing but all

throughout my stay in the university Specifically, I would like to thank Colleene for being my library buddy, Katleen, Anne and Erika for being with me throughout the

“bangag” days and Mishel, Kenneth and Carlo for sharing their knowledge with me

Thank you so much

And to my dearest Latrell Llanto, thank you for believing in my ability to

successfully finish my research Thank you for spoiling me with all the stress relievers (foods), encouragements and inspirations

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DOCUMENTATION PAGE WITH ABSTRACT ii

DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv

LIST OF FIGURES vi

APPENDIX vi

LIST OF TABLES vii

PART I INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the Study 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem 2

1.3 Significance of the Study 3

1.4 Objectives of the Study 4

1.5 Hypotheses of the Study 5

1.6 Limitations of the Study 5

PART II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 6

2.1 Household Solid Wastes and its Effect on the Environment 6

2.2 Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries 7

2.3 People’s Knowledge, Attitude and Practices about Solid Wastes 9

2.4 Probable Solutions for Solid Waste Management Problems 11

2.5 Household Solid Waste Management in the Philippines 13

2.6 Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 14

2.7 Solid Waste Management in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines 16

PART III METHODS AND DESIGN 21

3.1 Types of Data and Method of Data Collection 21

3.2 Selection of the Study Area 21

3.3 Selection of Respondents 23

3.4 Method of Analysis and Data Presentation 25

3.5 Conceptual Framework 29

PART IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 32

4.1 Results 32

4.1.1 Socio – Economic Characteristics of the 148 Respondents in Los Baños 32

4.1.2 Household Solid Wastes Produced in 148 Households in Los Baños 38

4.1.3 Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of the Selected Households Regarding Solid Waste Management 41

4.1.4 Correlation of the Households’ Knowledge, Attitude, Positive Practices, Income and Educational Attainment 48

4.2 Discussion 49

PART V CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 53

5.1 Conclusion 53

5.2 Recommendations 54

REFERENCES 56

APPENDICES 59

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Organization Structure of the Solid Waste Management Program in Los

Baños 16

Figure 2 Solid Waste Cycle in Los Baños 18

Figure 3 Base Map of Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines 23

Figure 4 Degree of Correlation 28

Figure 5 Conceptual Framework for the Assessment of the Household’s Knowledge, Attitude and Practices in Solid Waste Management of the Selected Coastal Barangays in Los Baños 31

Figure 6 Types of Solid Waste Generated in 148 households in Coastal Barangays of Los Baños, Philippines, 2017 39

Figure 7 Estimation of Average kg/yr of Solid Waste Generated in 148 households in Coastal Barangays of Los Baños, Philippines, 2017 40

Figure 8 Total percentage of the respondents practices of solid waste treatment in Coastal Barangays of Los Baños, Philippines, 2017 47

Figure 9 Total practices of wastes disposal of the 148 households in Los Baños, Philippines, 2017 48

APPENDIX Appendix A Questionnaire 59

Appendix B Preliminary Survey 63

Appendix C Socio-economic characteristics per barangay 64

Appendix D Types of solid wastes produced per barangay 67

Appendix E Level of knowledge per barangay 68

Appendix F Level of attitude per barangay 73

Appendix G Practices in household solid waste disposal per barangay 78

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Population, Household Number and Sample Size of the Coastal Barangays

of Los Baños, Philippines, 2017 25Table 2. Frequency and percentage distribution of the socio-economic

characteristics of the 148 respondents in Los Baños, Philippines, 2017 36Table 3 Socio-economic characteristics in relation to the 148 respondents’

knowledge, attitude and practices in coastal barangays of Los Baños, Philippines, 2017 37Table 4. Frequency and percentage distribution of the types of household solid

wastes in coastal barangays of Los Baños, Philippines, 2017 39Table 5 Estimated average of solid wastes in a kg/week basis in 148 households in

coastal barangays of Los Baños, Philippines, 2017 40Table 6 Level of Knowledge of the 148 respondents in coastal barangays of Los

Baños, Philippines, 2017 42Table 7 Level of Attitude of the 148 respondents in coastal barangays of Los

Baños, Philippines, 2017 44Table 8. Frequency and percentage of the respondents’ positive practices in coastal

barangays of Los Baños, Philippines, 2017 46Table 9. Frequency and percentage of the respondents’ negative practices in coastal

barangays of Los Baños, Philippines, 2017 46Table 10 Correlation of Knowledge, Attitude, Positive Practices, Income and

Educational Attainment in Los Baños, Philippines, 2017 49

PART I INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Solid wastes are any discarded or thrown out solid materials which may come from animal and human activities It can be classified based on contents, hazard potential or origin of waste Classification based on contents pertains to inclusion of materials like plastic, paper, metal, glass and organic waste, while, hazard potential includes toxic, non-toxic, radioactive, flammable or could spread infection On the other hand, origin of wastes refers to whether it is from industrial, domestic, construction, commercial or demolition (LeBlanc, 2016)

Whether the wastes are classified through its contents, hazard potential or origin, a systematic management of solid waste is still demanded to guarantee environmental hygiene With a purpose of maintaining a clean environment, this led

to the formation of different programs, rules and regulations related to Solid Waste Management (SWM) (LeBlanc, 2016)

Also, SWM refers to the lessening or elimination of the adverse environmental and human health impacts due to improper treatment of wastes It also includes the number of practices related to treatment of wastes such as monitoring, collection, transport, processing, recycling and disposal (LeBlanc, 2016)

In the Philippines, like any other developing countries, waste management has been part of its primary problem for the past decades Generated wastes have increased significantly in the country especially to urban areas due to modernization, urbanization and accelerated population growth The inability of both local and national government on implementing proper waste management due to financial,

human, and technical resources scarcity resulted to both environmental and health complications (Atienza, 2011)

As mentioned above, increased production of wastes were experienced particularly to urban areas such as Los Baños, Laguna The said area encountered the challenges of implementing an effective SWM programs within the municipality Some of these challenges were urbanization, acceleration to the number of population, absence of discipline among the communities, etc which results to land and water pollution Thus, led to the strict implementation and manifestation of six Municipal Ordinances and one Memorandum Order related to Solid Waste Management (Perez, 2009)

1.2 Statement of the Problem

In the observation done in Los Baños, it was shown that as the population increases, so thus the wastes being generated in the Municipality (Rustia, 2001) In relation to the increased generation of wastes, as of 1980 to 2001, the vicinity of Los Baños experienced smog due to burning of wastes; wastes were unorganized and mixed at the dumpsite; and wastes were dispersed on the streets, having that 33 – 35 tons of wastes were produced per day and one of the major contributors to these wastes generation were the households

In Mayor Caesar Perez’s report about Local Ecological Governance, he stated some of the major problems faced by the municipality with regards to addressing the solid waste management, was the absence of the community’s involvement and discipline having that there’s a continuous increase in urbanization and population

rate leading to air and water pollution It was then stressed by Mayor Caesar P Perez that,

“Garbage problem is not sole responsibility of the government; the

citizens must do their share on proper waste disposal” (Perez, 2009)

With this, the study was conducted to answer the following questions:

1 What are the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines?

2 What are the types and nature of solid wastes produced in the coastal barangays of Los Baños?

3 What are the household’s level of knowledge & attitude, and practices regarding Solid Waste Management?

4 What are the relationships of the respondents’ income and educational attainment with their level of knowledge, attitude and positive practices (KAP)

in Solid Waste Management?

5 How does the household’s level of knowledge, attitude and positive practices related to each other in relation to solid waste management?

1.3 Significance of the Study

The study could provide information about the knowledge, attitude and practices in solid waste management of the selected households; and the identity & quantity of the generated solid wastes in the selected households of Los Baños’ coastal barangays Having that massive generation of waste could result to challenges

on Municipal Solid Waste Management (Desta, Worku and Fetene, 2013)

In general, the findings of the study could benefit the community people in terms of self – awareness on how improper management of wastes could affect their environment and health The results of the study may serve as additional information

to the household solid waste management practices in Los Baños, in which could help the municipality in planning new programs for the improvement and sustainability of the existing programs in Solid Waste Management

Through the information gathered, list of recommendations on better management of household solid waste would be provided which could be of help to the community, government, environmentalists and organizations, as well

1.4 Objectives of the Study

In general, the study aimed to assess the Knowledge, Attitude and Practices in Solid Waste Management of the households in the selected coastal barangays of Los

Baños Specifically, it aimed to:

1 Describe the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents;

2 Describe the types and nature of solid wastes produced in the coastal barangays of Los Baños;

3 Correlate the respondents’ income and educational attainment with its relationship on household’s Knowledge, Attitude and Positive Practices; and

4 Correlate the respondents’ Knowledge, Attitude and Positive Practices with each other in relation to solid waste management

1.5 Hypotheses of the Study

Based on the objectives of the study, the following hypotheses were formulated:

1 The selected households of the coastal barangays in Los Baños have:

a High knowledge in relation to solid waste management;

b Positive attitude in relation to solid waste management

2 The selected households practices proper disposal of their solid wastes;

3 The respondents’ income and educational attainment is positively correlated to their level of Knowledge, Attitude and Positive Practices in Solid Waste Management; and

4 The respondents have positive correlation between:

a Knowledge and Attitude

b Knowledge and Positive Practices

c Attitude and Positive Practices

1.6 Limitations of the Study

Despite of being able to accomplish the objectives of the study, the study mainly focused only on the knowledge, attitude and practices of the respondents wherein different variables were not determined such as 1) factors that may affect the respondents’ knowledge, attitude and practices on solid waste management 2) environmental awareness and environmental behavior in relation to the respondents’ knowledge, attitude and practices Also, due to the time constraint and lack in manpower the study was just able to give an estimation of the wastes production from the respondents’ guess on its quantity

PART II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Household Solid Wastes and its Effect on the Environment

There are different classifications of solid wastes; however, solid wastes that are commonly found in households were mainly categorized into three: the biodegradable wastes, non-biodegradable and universal wastes (The Energy and Resources Institute (teri) – Types of Solid waste, n.d.)

Biodegradable wastes such as food wastes and fruits and vegetable peels were responsible for the additional greenhouse gases at the earth’s atmosphere of 3.3 billion tonnes; it approximately may cover 1.4 billion hectares of land affecting the agriculture and causing biodiversity loss; and may put pressure on the need for more production of food to be able to meet up the population demand raising the risk of abusive use of the natural resources (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – FAO, 2013); yard trimmings like leaves and grasses may contain chemicals such as carbon monoxide and benzopyrene specifically when burned, causing air pollution and heath damages such as asthma, lung cancer, heart diseases, etc (Ong, 2015) Also, unintentionally or intentionally littering of these wastes on lakes and rivers may cause excessive nutrients in the lakes which may cause decrease in water quality of the said water resource/s (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, n.d.); and animal faeces , may cause water pollution and risk on human health such as diarrhoea,

anaemia, hepatitis, etc., due to its infectious microogranisms such as Cryptosporidium

parvum oocysts, Ancylostoma spp and Necator sp., Giardia lamblia cysts, etc (World

Health Organization, 2003)

In comparison to biodegradable wastes, non-biodegradable wastes such as plastics, metals, papers, glass, etc have chemical compounds which cause them to be

not degraded but rather releases harmful chemical compounds (Uwera, 2013), such as carbon monoxide, methane, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), etc causing global warming, water and air pollution, scarcity in natural resources, forest and biodiversity decreased welfare, etc (Pongrácz, 2007)

As for universal wastes such as batteries, electric gadgets, appliances, light bulbs, etc may contain chemicals such as copper, lead, mercury, metal carbonyls, etc may results to both land and water contamination through the leaching of the said chemicals and putting risk on human health, soil quality, biodiversity welfare and such (Latimer, 2015)

All in all, any type of waste may cause a certain degree of harm in the environment depending on its quantity and how it is disposed or treated (Alam & Ahmade, 2013)

2.2 Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries

Many developing countries face a major challenge in solid waste management; this is mainly due to the magnitude of rapid urbanization and increasing population growth which resulted in high generation of solid wastes in the urban environment

(Desta, Worku & Fetene, 2013)

A study was conducted at Addis Ababa City in Euthopia by Desta, Worku and Fetene (2013) which aimed to evaluate the current Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) practices of the place since Addis Ababa was facing a huge challenge in dealing with Municipal Solid Waste which resulted to massive generation of wastes Using qualitative and quantitative analysis, the study found that

the generation of wastes on a daily basis has reached to 2,750 m3, wherein only 65%

of these wastes were collected and transported on a landfill while the remaining 35% were disposed of improperly resulting to environmental pollution Thus, the study concluded that poor management of solid wastes were primarily due to some generic factors such as insufficient budget, malfunctioning and poor operation equipment, illegal disposition on undesignated areas, exposed disposals, poor condition of the final disposal area, lack of adequate governance in waste management system, and the absence of an effective public participation Also, they added that waste management

of the city was not effective due to rapid growth of the population coupled with unplanned urban expansion and financial scarcity to proper waste management Early involvement from all concerned stakeholders was considered at stake in the solid waste management’s planning process and continuous awareness

In relation to the study above, Taxil City in Pakistan also showed a major problem in waste management due to rapid urbanization, industrialization, insufficient funds and poor management which resulted to a negative impact to the environment Wherein, an approximate of 54,850 tons of wastes were generated every day in urban areas having that less than 50% of these were collected resulting to land and water resources pollution, infectious diseases were generated, drain system was negatively affected and biodiversity of the city was at stake (Ejaz & Janjua, 2012)

Morever, the study of Fei-Baffoe, Nyankson and Miah (2014) gave focused on the constraints to an effective solid waste management in Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis Using mixed methodological approach the following were resulted from the study; First, Lack of finance to support continuous waste collection service of collectors wherein people in high class zone were required to pay an amount of 1.46$, middle class pays 1.17$ and low class areas pay only 0.06$ in a monthly basis

Second is the lack in waste management personnel, which affects a better outcome of waste management service Third is lack of appropriate equipment to carry out waste collection activities efficiently And last would be lack of strict law enforcement due

to lack of political will of the municipality

All in all, the results of the studies shown that resources such as financial needs, manpower, technical assistance, etc cannot keep up with the increasing generation of wastes wherein not all 100% of the wastes generated were collected or properly disposed of resulting to adverse impact on the environment mainly pollution affecting other factors such as human health, economic growth, etc

2.3 People’s Knowledge, Attitude and Practices about Solid Wastes

The cooperation of the public people was deemed necessary in obtaining an efficient solid waste management (Kumar & Nandini, 2013)

Kumar and Nandini (2013) conducted a study in Bangalore City, Karnataka, India which aimed to identify the community attitude, perception, and willingness towards solid waste management According to one of the results gathered through structured interviews and focused group discussions, it is shown that majority does not care on the wastes’ final disposal Additionally, residents’ have given reasons on why they are not willing or does not feel the need of cooperating or paying in waste management, the said reasons are: 37% of the respondents believe that there are no problems present since their wastes are collected and there is enough space like road, lake bed, open spaces, etc to throw the wastes, 34% is currently under low level of income and believes that survival is their sole priority than the waste and other few households feel that it is the government and municipalities’ duty

Ambat and Saharsh (2003) also stated that the reason behind the inefficiency

of any waste management programme was the poor participation of the community With the use of a detailed pretested survey format, some of the results in the study showed that most of the people of Thiruvananthapuram City, India assumed that it is the responsibility of the government officers and they are not needed to part – take to perform solid waste management programs, before However, through their participation in a waste management programme, 88% percent of people showed a changed of actions and perspective as they were informed that they also need to take part in proper solid waste management as they were the producer of wastes

The studies completed by Kumar and Nandini (2013) and Ambat and Saharsh (2003) highlighted the importance of the public’s cooperation in attaining an efficient solid waste management, on the other hand, studies done by Banga (2011) and Jatau (2013) stressed on the relationship of the respondents’ level of awareness and their practices in solid waste management

The study by Banga (2011) used a descriptive analysis and a binary outcome model to determine the household knowledge, attitudes and practices in solid waste segregation and recycling in Urban Kampala, Uganda The study showed that the cooperation in activities of solid waste separation depends on different factors like level of awareness of recycling activities in the area and socio – economic profile such as household income, educational level and gender Thus, the study of Jatau (2013) showed a detailed explanation of knowledge, attitudes and practices associated with waste management in Jos South Metropolis, Plateau State, Nigeria By using a descriptive analysis, chi – square and t – test in analyzing the data gathered, the study concluded that the respondents’ who attained a higher level of education has a higher level of awareness on the possible impacts of improper waste management to health

than those with lower level of education, but both performs positive practices associated with waste management As for the age, respondents with an age of 31+ showed positive attitudes associated with waste management than age 15-30 However, age has statistical insignificance influence on attitudes associated with waste management while level of education has shown a statistical significant influence on knowledge of waste management and on practices associated with waste management

2.4 Probable Solutions for Solid Waste Management Problems

Due to the acceleration of solid waste produced in most developing nations, it was seen that most of the nations experienced the difficulties of finding an efficient and sustainable approaches in waste problems Still, there are several towns that were able to promote contemporary ways on handling solid waste management problems in their vicinities (Atienza, 2008)

A study done by Atienza (2008) focused on how does the cooperation of the residents and their assemblage on decision – making processes could be an efficient way on handling solid waste management in other unindustrialized nations Through the discussions of related articles and survey of Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines, the study therefore concluded that there are four main factors that could serve as a proof

on defining the importance of the resident’s cooperation and assemblage on decision – making processes on handling solid waste management which are; First, quantity of the wastes produced multiplies as the number of population expands which means that

“people” are the source of the problem; Second, wastes could also be a possible source of income only if it is appropriately handled; Third, solid waste management

problems are things that cannot be dealt by the government alone therefore the participation of various people in the community were considered necessary in

dealing with solid waste management; Lastly,

“…the solution to solid waste management problems does not always mean using expensive and advanced technologies, but rather identifying the local and appropriate technologies in the community.”

In comparison to the mentioned study above, Remy (2012) specified that even through the different actions taken part by the different sectors of the community, still

it was not able to solve the local waste management issues Through the gathering of different studies that focuses on the rules and decisions implemented in 29 countries around the world, the study concluded that approaches based on economic, social, political mechanisms, and modern technologies can support cities/countries in developing a sustainable MSWM system; challenges on managing wastes are due to legislative desecration; and if the shareholders are not knowledgeable to hold up with MSW then the quantity of wastes will remain proportional to income having that countries with lower income faces more difficulties in MSWM

Relatively, the study about planning for future waste management operations

in developing countries that was completed by Rushbrook and Finnecy (1988) was interrelated to the discussed researches above Through the use of computer models, the study was able to determine that problems on waste management were also altered

by financial, public and racial conditions Thus, a well – planned judicial structure, rules and regulations on waste, executive strategies are considered necessary to obtain

an effective waste management operation, with the help of foreign counselors and administrations in giving recommendations, assistance, training and technology

However, all in all, solving a nation’s solid waste management problems can only be done by its own people

2.5 Household Solid Waste Management in the Philippines

The combination of the increasing population in the campus of University of Eastern Philippines (UEP) and unavailability of a hygienic dumpsite led to the residents’ discarding of wastes in an open dumpsite (C Ultra & A Ultra, 2013)

As for the stated reason above, C Ultra and A Ultra (2013) aimed to determine the solid waste management practices of the households in the UEP premises Using a descriptive analysis, the study found that the typical wastes produced in the area are kitchen wastes, paper, cans and bottles Few households (Barangay Zone I & II) practices burning of solid wastes, while, cans and bottles are mostly considered as re-usable items like as a container or could also be sold to junkshops (Barangay Zone I, II & III) Still, complications in solid waste management

in the sample barangays were experienced due to vehicle breakdown causing delay on waste collection and piled – up wastes; inadequate awareness on proper disposal of solid wastes; poor participation of households in practicing proper dumping of wastes; and insufficient government fund for solid waste management program implementation

In contrary to the mentioned household practices in UEP, respondents’ households in the villages of Metro Manila, Philippines do not practice the burning of solid wastes nor composting since the households believe that garbage collection and disposal is the obligation of the government However, some respondents admitted that they leave their garbage (usually in street corners) in non – designated pick up

areas This study completed by Bernardo (2008) used open – ended question in interviews with the household members

To compare the households’ practices in another area in the Philippines, some

of the results in a study done by Premakumara (2011) showed that the randomly selected households in Cebu City appears to be unaware of the possible consequences

of solid waste disposal to the environment As the urban areas of Cebu City experiences insufficient waste collection services due to lack of collectors, budget and manpower, still, most households argued that they are not willing to give extra bills for waste collection service since it should be a responsibility of the Barangay Nonetheless, some sells their recyclable materials to house-to-house collectors and few households understand a little about composting and practice in gardening

2.6 Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000

By 20th of December 2000, Republic Act (RA) of the Philippines 9003 or also known the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act was handed by the Philippine Congress and was permitted on 26th of January 2001 by the Office of the President to address and respond to the garbage problems in the country (Aquino, Deriquito & Festejo, 2013)

R.A No 9003 is a state policy of adopting an efficient, widespread and environmental solid waste management program of the Philippines, which is to guarantee the security of the environment and public health It is a mandatory law which gives emphasis to the urgency of making the essential organized system & inducement, and punishments to the violators (NSWMC, 2005b cited in Sapuay, 2014) Wherein, the implementation of the policies and regulation under R.A No

9003 are enclosed in the Philippines DENR Administrative Order No 2001 – 34 (NSWMC, 2001 cited in Sapuay, 2014)

Accordingly, a total of 103 cities out of 109 were able to organize their Solid Waste Management Board (SWMBs) with the provisions of R.A No 9003 in year

2004 However, out of 103, only 49 cities had effective SWMBs Wherein, SWMB prepares the Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP); supervise the implementation

of SWMP in cooperation with private sectors and NGOs; recommends methods for preserving the ecosystem & security against pollution; and proposes actions like franchises or Build – Operate – Transfer (BOT) agreements for the collection, transfer, storage, processing, recycling, or solid waste disposal (Torres, 2009)

Some of the policies and regulation to be punished are open burning of wastes with a penalty of Php300 - Php1,000 and/or imprisonment of 1 to 15 days; littering, dumping of waste matters in public places, canals, estuaries, or permitting the same have the same penalty with open burning of wastes; establishment or operation of open dumpsite with a penalty of Php500,000 for first offense and 1 to 3 years of imprisonment for second offense Also, under Section 52, citizens may file a case against any private person or public official who fails to implement the law (Sapuay, 2014)

Under the R.A No 9003, its implementation and enforcement shall be taken under the responsibility of the Local Government Units while the barangays are responsible for the collection and segregation of biodegradable, compostable & reusable solid wastes and the cities or municipalities is in charge for the collection of non – recyclable materials and special wastes (RA 9003)

2.7 Solid Waste Management in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines

A study done by Atienza (2008) entitled as the “Breakthrough in Solid Waste Management through Participation and Community Mobilization: The Experience of Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines” stressed the possible factors needed to achieve an effective solid waste management programs, the study stated that many developing countries faced the difficulties of implementing an effective solid waste management programs due to lack of resources such as funds and manpower, thus, despite these hindrances the Municipality of Los Baños, Laguna was able to attain a better solid waste management programs This solid waste management programs includes the participation of different sectors (Figure 1) and the strict implementation of rules and regulations related to solid waste management

Figure 1 Organization Structure of the Solid Waste Management Program in

Los Baños (MENRO, 2012)

As the study of Atienza (2008) aimed to define the importance of the community’s participation in attaining a better/successful solid waste management program having the municipality of Los Baños as its role model On the other hand, a study of Alaira (2007) aimed to determine the indicators of sustainability about positive administration on the environment in terms of the solid waste management in

a town basing from the business and civil category’s point of view, in which the

municipality of Los Baños was chosen as the study area Through descriptive analysis and the use of Chi – square test and Spearman’s Correlation test, the study was able to conclude that the factors such as “consultative processes, legal bases, presence of solid waste management unit or desks, presence of plans and programs, definition of roles and responsibilities and evidences of impacts” were the six main concerns in relation to the sustainability indicators present at the municipality specifically to the administration’s positive relation on the environment

In contrary to the study of Alaira (2007) which mainly focused on the business and civil category’s point of view, the study of Rustia (2001) concentrated on the household level in Los Baños Through descriptive analysis, simple linear regression model and correlation analysis the study was able to determine that households’ environmental awareness, knowledge and attitude are high but are low in environmental behavior Also, some hindrances were found in achieving a successful management of waste, which is the lack of the people’s initiation to segregate, the belief that it is the obligation of the LGUs to manage their waste and the attitude of “ I don’t care where my garbage will end – up”

Despite of the said problems associated with the solid waste management in Los Baños, the said municipality was also able to show improvements both from technical and social approaches (Atienza, 2008) Such that, Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) was assigned as the main sector to enhance and effectively carry out the Los Baños Ten-Year Solid Waste Management Plan 2014-2023 in which purpose is to target the 50% of solid wastes categorized as biodegradable to be compost, recycle the non-biodegradable wastes and disposal of the remaining waste in the sanitary landfill which is also known as ecowaste processing center

In accordance to what was mentioned above, MENRO formed an illustration

on how to effectively reduce the consumption of wastes and reduce the risk of possible threat to the environment As shown in Figure 4, the solid waste generators (e.g households, business establishments, etc.) were obliged to segregate their wastes

so that it could be disposed properly when collected by the garbage collectors, having that as of 2014, ~53.3 tons of wastes were produced by the households on a daily basis (MENRO, 2012) With these, the biodegradable were collected for vermicomposting, wherein it is the usage of different worm species to produce a heterogeneous mixture to be used as compost (Misra, Roy & Hiraoka, 2003) While, recyclable wastes were to be collected by waste pickers or junkshops to promote profit Lastly, special and residual wastes were to be collected and treated to the sanitary landfill

Figure 2 Solid Waste Cycle in Los Baños (MENRO, 2012)

In addition to what was mentioned above, the government assigned a particular date and time for a specific type of solid wastes which:

 Biodegradable Wastes: Mondays to Fridays (8:00 pm to 9:00 pm)

 Non-Biodegradable Wastes: Saturdays (8:00 pm to 9:00 pm)

 Residual Wastes: Saturdays (8:00 pm to 9:00 pm)

 Special Wastes: By arrangement with the MENRO

In support to the advocacy and purpose of the Los Baños Ten-Year Solid Waste Management Plan 2014-2023, the government of Los Baños also established municipal ordinances and memorandum orders on solid waste management, which were:

 Municipal Ordinance 92-98 as amended by M.O 2001-08 “Kautusan

Hinggil sa Pangangalaga ng Basura at ang mga Karampatang Pataw Ukol Dito” (creation of regulations together with the appropriate

violations to be implemented in accordance to solid waste

management)

 Municipal Ordinance 2001-07 Creation of Task Force Kalinisan (TFK)

 Municipal Ordinance 2001-16 “No Smoking in Public Utility Vehicles”

 Municipal Ordinance 2004-338 Creation of Solid Waste Management Board

 Municipal Ordinance 2004-363 Declaring 1st Saturday of September,

every year as “Pista ng Kapaligiran” (celebration of the importance of

the environment) in Los Baños

 Municipal Ordinance 2008-752 Prohibiting the Use of Plastic Bags on Dry Goods and Regulating Its Utilization on Wet Goods and Prohibiting the Use of Styrofoam in the Municipality of Los Baños and Prescribing Penalties Thereof

 Memorandum Order No CPP-04-203 Pagpapataw ng Kasong

Administratibo laban sa mga Opisyales ng Barangay na Di Tumutupad

at Di Nagpapatupad ng RA 9003 at ang Pambayang Kautusan Blg 2001-08 (creation of administrative cases against barangay officials

who does not comply and implement RA 9003 and Memorandum

Order 2001-08)

PART III METHODS AND DESIGN

3.1 Types of Data and Method of Data Collection

Primary data was obtained from the representatives of selected households from the five (5) coastal barangays of Los Baños through personal interview The mixed questionnaire which contains both close and open-ended questions was mainly composed of parametric scale to measure the study’s objectives The questions were adapted from the study of Rustia (2001)

On the other hand, theories and principles from related dissertations, journals, articles, abstract papers, reports and books gathered from the School of

Environmental Science and Management Library was considered as secondary data

The list of households was taken from the office of the Municipality of Los Baños

3.2 Selection of the Study Area

The study was conducted in the vicinity of Los Baños Los Baños has an approximate total land area of 5,560 ha, and is one of the 30 Local Government Units

found in the province of Laguna that is located at 14° 11’ North (longitude) and 121° 15’ East (latitude) It is surrounded by Laguna Lake on the North, Sto Tomas,

Batangas on the South, Bay, Laguna on the East and Calamba City on the West

Currently, it is subdivided into 14 barangays which are Anos, Bagong Silang, Batong Malake, Bambang, Bayog, Baybayin (formerly known as Poblacion), Lalakay, Maahas, Mayondon, Malinta, San Antonio, Tadlac, Tuntungin-Putho and Timugan

(Figure 3) with a total population of 112, 493 and a total household number of 26,847

in year 2015

The town of Los Baños was said to be internationally recognized due to its; research and academic institutions like University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD), Ecosystem Research and Development Bureau (ERDB), Philippine Rice Research Institute (PHILRICE) and others; and its refreshing environment which attracts both tourists and local people to enjoy activities such as hiking and hot springs

By the said factors above, the municipality of Los Baños was then declared as

A Special University Zone in the Letter of Instruction No 883 of President

Ferdinand E Marcos on 15 June 1979 Then, on 17 March 1982 the municipality was

declared as an Agriculture, Forestry, and Life Sciences Community through the

Executive Order No 784 Section 23 And, on 7 August 2000, Los Baños was declared

as the Special Science and Nature City of the Philippines through Presidential

Proclamation No 349, which acknowledged the role of Los Baños as a center for science and technology in the development of agriculture and reservation of environment

Additionally, in accordance to Continuing Mandamus on Manila Bay issued

by the Supreme Court, it obliges the people in the Basin of Laguna Lake to properly treat their waste to avoid the pollution of and improve Manila Bay’s neighboring coastal area With this, the study was conducted on the five coastal barangays of Los

Baños, which were Tadlac, Baybayin (formerly known as Poblacion), Malinta, Mayondon and Bayog, as shown in Figure 3

Figure 3 Base Map of Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines

Source: Comprehensive Land-Use Plan of Los Baños (CLUP), n.a

3.3 Selection of Respondents

As a requirement to represent the whole household, respondents were either the head of the family or member in-charge of the households’ solid waste disposal in case of the absence of the head of the family

By simple random sampling method, the respondents were randomly selected using draw lots in the list of the household that was numbered accordingly Then, the sample size (number of households per barangay) was computed by using the following formulas:

(eq 1)

( ) Where:

Table 1 Population, Household Number and Sample Size of the Coastal

Barangays of Los Baños, Philippines, 2017

Source: LB Municipal Planning and Development (LBMPD), 2016

3.4 Method of Analysis and Data Presentation

Desciptive Analysis

Descriptive analysis was used to determine all the necessary data such as socio – economic characteristics; types of household solid wastes produced; households’ knowledge, attitude and practices in solid waste management For quantitative data, the mean and range were computed, while for qualitative data, frequency counts and percentages were used

2 – Rarely True

1 – Never True

Thus, the scale represented how the respondents answered the statements correctly, having that, the weighted mean was then computed wherein the ranges of 5 – 4.1 indicates Highly Knowledgeable (A), 4 – 3.1 indicates Knowledgeable (B), 3 – 2.1 indicates No Idea (C), 2 – 1.1 indicates Somewhat Knowledgeable (D) and 1 – 0.1 indicates Not Knowledgeable (E) While,

Attitude used the scale of:

Relatively, average weighted mean was computed using the following formula:

(eq.3)

̅

Where:

= sum of multiplied weights and value = weights (frequency)

= value (likert-scale)

Spearman Correlation Analysis

Correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between the respondents’: level of Knowledge and Attitude with their Practices and income & educational attainment with their level of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices

The following formula was used to compute for the correlation coefficient:

s y = sample standard deviation of variable y

The sample correlation may range from negative one to positive one The closer the value of the sample correlation to zero indicates a negligible or no relationship between the variables While values near to positive one indicates a positive relationship between the variables, in which positive correlationship means that as variable A increases so thus variable B In contrary, if the values were near to negative one then there is a negative correlationship between the variables, wherein as variable A increase thus variable B decreases Specifically, the values ranges from

±.01 - ±0.19 indicates very weak (±1), ±0.20 - ±0.39 weak (±2), ±0.40 - ±0.59 indicates moderate (±3), ±0.60 - ±0.70 indicates strong (±4) and ±0.80 - ±1.0 indicates very strong (±5)

Figure 4 Degree of Correlation

Source: http://www.geoib.com/spearmans-rank.html

Thus, data analysis was made possible using statistical software, STATA, and data presentation was made using Microsoft Excel 2010

Household’s Socio – Economic Characteristics The variables included were age,

gender, household size, civil status, educational attainment, source of income and estimated monthly income which were mainly adapted from the study of Kumar and Nandini (2013) The said variables were used to compare with the respondents’ knowledge, attitude and practices in solid waste management Mainly, the household size, source of income and estimated monthly income focused on determining the relation with the types of solid wastes produced together with its quantity Specifically, the number of people may affect the increasing generation of wastes within a household (household size), source of income may affect the types of solid wastes produced within the household, and people with higher income may generate more wastes (Remy, 2012)

Types and Nature of Solid Wastes Generated This referred to the identification of the

types of wastes produced based on its content & hazard potential, and the classifications of which is the commonly used or mostly generated in the households

of the selected barangays of Los Baños (LeBlanc, 2016) The identification of these

factors were used to determine what were the knowledge, attitude and practices of the households about the wastes they produced given that different types of solid wastes has its corresponding proper disposal to lessen the pollution in the environment

Solid Waste Management Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices The first two variables

focused on the households’ Knowledge & Attitude towards solid waste management

programs present in the municipality of Los Baños and in their own barangays The households’ knowledge was categorized from always true, sometimes true, don’t know/no idea, rarely true and never true while for the attitude, it was categorized from strongly agree, agree, neither agree or disagree, disagree and strongly disagree and which will be answered from 10 statements’ tool, and were used to determine how does the level of knowledge and attitude affects the practices of the respondents

On the other hand, solid waste management Practices will focus on the factors being

practiced by the households such as 3R (reduce, re-use and recycle), segregation, composting, burning, etc in terms of their solid waste disposal, and was classified between the negative and positive practices

In summary, the framework shows that socio-economic factors may affect the generated solid wastes of a household It will then measure the household’s knowledge and attitude towards solid waste management and will able to present the household’s practices on SWM In addition to that, socio-economic characteristics may also affect household’s knowledge and attitude to SWM Moreover, household’s socio-economic characteristics and household’s generated solid wastes may distress household’s practices on solid waste management

Figure 5 Conceptual Framework for the Assessment of the Household’s Knowledge, Attitude and Practices in Solid Waste Management

of the Selected Coastal Barangays in Los Baños

 Dumping in any area

PART IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Results

4.1.1 Socio – Economic Characteristics of the 148 Respondents in Los Baños

The socio-economic characteristics of the respondents were categorized into gender, age, civil status, household size, educational attainment, source of income and estimated monthly income in purpose of describing the family’s economic and general position in the society

Gender

Majority of the respondents were male (54.05%; 81 out 148) while the remaining 45.95% (67 out of 148) were female as presented in Table 2 Meanwhile, in relation to knowledge, attitude and practices, Table 3 shows that female respondents have higher knowledge than male (x 4.30) and showed higher percentage of positive practices towards proper waste management (89.77%) On the other hand, male respondents showed higher positivity in attitude than females (x 4.2)

Age

The average age of the respondents was 47 as shown in Table 2 Most individuals age from 41 to 50 years old (28.38%; 42 out of 148) followed by the age ranges from 30 and below (25.00%; 37 out of 148), then ages from 31 to 40 years old (22.97%; 34 out of 148), next was ages from 51 to 60 (15.54%; 23 out of 148) followed by the 61 to 70 years (5.41%; 8 out of 148) of age, and the least age range is the 71 years old and above (2.70%; 4 out of 148) Based on this result, population is

in balanced proportion of young and old as being in-charge with the household’s solid

waste treatment Relatively, respondents aging from 51 years old and above showed higher knowledge (x 4.34), higher positivity in attitude (x 4.13) and higher percentage in positive practices regarding solid waste management (84.94%) than the respondents aging from 50 years old and below (Table 3)

Civil Status

Table 2 shows that most of the respondents were married (70.27%; 104 out of 148) followed by single respondents (16.22%; 24 out of 148) next was the widowed respondents (9.46%; 14 out 148) and the least were divorced (4.05%; 6 out of 148) Accordingly, Table 3 shows that respondents who were widowed have higher knowledge (x 4.42) and higher percentage of positive practices (90.23%) in solid waste management than the others, while, respondents who were married showed higher positivity in attitude (x 4.15) than the others