Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Iranian Urban Residents Regarding the Management of Household Hazardous Solid Wastes in 2014

Background & Aims of the Study: Household hazardous waste is an important part ofmunicipal solid waste in any community and if it is not managed properly, it cansignificantly damage the health of family, community and environment. The present studyaimed at evaluating the knowledge, attitude and practices of households regarding themanagement of household hazardous wastes in Amirkola, Mazandaran, Iran.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 330 households ofAmirkola, Mazandaran, Iran in the summer of 2014. A researcher-made data collectionform in accordance with the objectives of the study was used to assess the knowledge,attitude and practices of Iranian urban residents regarding the management of householdhazardous wastes through observation of researchers and interview. The validity of the datacollection form was confirmed by five faculty members of the Departments ofEnvironmental Health and Community Medicine. Data were analyzed using SPSS version19, descriptive statistical indexes, T-test and Chi- square tests, and p<0.05 was consideredas significant level.Results: The mean age of studied people was 39.1±10 years and 51.5% had high schooland diploma degrees. In this study, 75%, 36.7% and 6.3% of households were good in theknowledge, attitude and practices, respectively. A major part of household hazardouswastes (78%) was the containers of disinfectants and detergents. 43.6% and 10.3% ofhouseholds separated the household wastes and household hazardous wastes, respectivelyand no one recycled these wastes at home. 30% of households expressed that the lack ofproper management of municipal on collecting the separated wastes as a major factor in thereluctance of them in waste separation. 86.7% of people need to get information about it.Conclusion: Despite appropriate knowledge of surveyed households on different kinds ofhousehold hazardous wastes, most of them had no good attitude and practices and most ofthem did not separate and recycle the wastes. It is necessary to train the households becauseof the central role of families in improving the public and environmental health and theirtendency to get information on the management of household hazardous wastes.

کلیدواژه ها:

Household hazardous waste ، Households ، Knowledge ، Attitude ، Practices