Households’ Waste Disposal Practices and Its Impact on Health

Abstract

Waste management has been a worldwide concern today. India being the most populous country the rate of waste generation is also increasing rapidly. The problem of waste management has become a serious issue due to improper disposal of waste. The present study was conducted to examine the existing disposal practices of household waste. An Exploratory research design was used to conduct the present study with 60 respondents. Information on various types of waste, frequency of waste disposal and methods of waste disposal were obtained through the structured interview schedule. It was observed that majority of the respondents complain about the ill effects of improper disposal of solid waste. More than 80 per cent have collectively said that it causes infectious diseases, unpleasant odour and unclean surroundings. Through the study, it was observed that respondents are disposing the household waste by just throwing away outside the house. Burning of waste is also the most common practice followed by the respondents to clean their surroundings. Findings revealed that even though respondents have knowledge on waste management but their practice towards disposal of dry waste is poor. Age and family size were negatively correlated with waste disposal practices while education has a significant positive correlation with waste disposal practices.