Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Plastic Waste Management Among the Public in India: A Comprehensive Survey

Abstract

Plastic pollution has become a significant challenge and seriously threatens the environment and biota. Studying people’s knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and practices regarding plastic pollution and plastic waste management will help to regulate policy making, source segregation, and mitigation measures. The present study was conducted using an online Google form-based survey to assess the knowledge, attitude, awareness, and practice of the general public towards plastic pollution and plastic waste management. A total of 540 respondents participated across 27 different states of India. Descriptive statistical measures, frequency analysis, chi-square goodness of fit tests, and Pearson correlation analysis were performed to analyse the results of sociodemographic information, sources of plastics, and different domains of KAP scores. The results show that plastic bags were the most regularly used single-use plastic items, mainly from grocery stores. The overall KAPs score reveals that 16.7 % of the people were poor in knowledge, 30% were poor in awareness, 19.3 % were poor in attitude, and 61.5 % of the people were poor in the practice of plastic waste management and pollution. Different sociodemographic variables like residential area, education level, and occupations are significantly associated with the KAP towards plastic pollution and waste management (P<0.05). The study recommends that conducting environmental awareness campaigns, integrating plastic pollution and its impact on the environment and human health-related topics, could be infused into formal and informal education, and ensuring access to recycling facilities within local communities.