Municipal Solid Waste Segregation A Behavioural Perspective

Abstract

In developing countries, the collection and disposal of Municipal Solid Waste without segregation is a wicked problem concerning Municipal Solid Waste Management, leading to environmental pollution. The major reasons for the prevailing MSWM scenario in India are unsegregated Municipal Solid Waste at the source of its generation i.e., households, citizens attitudes, an unorganized informal trash sector, ill-prepared fiscal policies, and ineffective government policies. The government, policy makers, urban-local bodies, and households are highly concerned about this issue. Further, the literature spotlights the significance of the role of household and individuals cognition in shaping their environmental behaviour and hence the environmental behaviour of the public, at large. The scholars have called for research to gain in-depth insights into individuals cognitive factors, principally the impact of their personal values, attitude in shaping their behaviour towards environmental issues in the context of a household. Understanding of cognitive factors regarding community waste segregation behaviour can help decipher the underlying causes for developing appropriate action programmes to bring a desired change in the behaviour of individuals generating the MSW. This study is a detailed analysis of the cognitive factors affecting MSW segregation at the household level and suggests possible solutions for policy makers and urban local bodies, like municipal corporations. Hence, to have a thorough knowledge of the subject and to bridge the research gaps, this research empirically investigates the relationships between individuals values, attitude, and behaviour towards Municipal Solid Waste initiatives, like collection, its segregation and dumping at the landfill sites, in the cities and townships in the State of Punjab (India), by employing the Value Attitude Behavioural theory, as a theoretical background. For undertaking the same, the data was collected from the residents living in the cities and towns of state