Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards municipal solid waste management among eating houses in Luweero Town Council

Abstract

Majority of the waste generated in the urban areas of developing countries is openly dumped or burnt which puts the environment and residents’ health at risk. In Uganda, waste generated is mainly composed of biodegradable waste. The waste generated from eating houses comprises of food waste, plastics, glass, metals, paper and cardboards. The waste is normally disposed of while unsegregated to illegal dumpsites or poorly maintained collection facilities within close proximity with the eating houses. This study aimed at assessing the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards municipal solid waste management among eating house employees in Luweero Town Council. This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 390 randomly selected eating house employees in Luweero Town Council. Face to face interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire. Data from the study was cleaned in Microsoft Excel and analyzed using Stata 14.0 (Stata Corp, Texas, USA) software. Majority (81.8%, n = 319) of the respondents in the study were female while slightly more than half (52.8%, n = 206) were aged 25-34 years. About 36% were catholic 35.4% (n = 138), 67.6% (n = 263) were Baganda by tribe and 45.1%, (n = 176) had attained Ordinary-level education. Majority of the respondents (72.3%, n= 282) were knowledgeable regarding municipal solid waste management while 75.4% (n = 294) had positive attitudes towards municipal solid waste management and 69% (n = 269) had proper solid waste management practices. This study showed that most eating house employees were knowledgeable, had positive attitudes. A slightly larger proportion of employees practiced improper solid waste management compared to those knowledgeable and had positive attitudes. Therefore, Luweero Town Council management should adopt interventions improving proper municipal solid waste management practices in addition to knowledge and attitudes among the employees.