Level of Awareness and Practices in Solid Waste Management among Junior

High School Learners

Researchers:

Lynda Cristal Solanoy

Susan De Vera

April Mhae Rafanan

Pierce Hendrick Lacson

Eugene Pasag

Rajan Jiro Dangla

Marco Buma-a

Ben Justin Angcual

Saytan Integrated School

Saytan Pugo, La Union

 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Located in Southeast Asia, the Philippines is a nation that is a group of islands.
Due to its increasing middle class, civilized, and massive young population, it has a
vibrant and rapidly expanding economy (World Bank, 2020). Furthermore, the
Philippines' generation of solid waste is growing (Castillo & Otoma, 2013).
According to Republic Act 9003 or Environmental Solid Waste Management Act of
2000, solid waste includes all abandoned up households, commercial, institutional,
and industrial items as well as street cleaning, demolition waste, agro-waste, and other
non hazardous/harmless solid waste. Today, environmental degration is a serious
problem. All other considerations have been substituted by the need to protect our
environment (Michael,2014). As a result, managing solid waste is a challenge in both
affluent and underdeveloped countries. The manufacturing of municipal solid waste.
Environmental concerns of communities that is worthy of attention today (Pattnaik &
Reddy, 2010). Waste collection, transportation, disposal, and treatment were all
included in solid waste management. It promotes prosperousness and a higher
standard of living by minimizing or eliminating negative effects on the environment
and human health. It's essential to know how to properly dispose of waste in the
polluted environment of today (Marello and Helwege, 2014).

Solid waste management is crucial to environmental issue with direct

consequences on the environment. The escalating of global waste generation greatly
complicates proper waste management activities. Solid waste, referring to any non-
liquid waste from individuals, households, small businesses, or institutions outside of
the urban areas, poses a threat to public health. The uncontrolled disposal of Solid
waste may affect public health and the environment. The rates at which solid waste is
collected can vary considerably from one country to another. The management of
solid waste plays a crucial role in mitigating the challenges experienced by both urban
and rural areas as urbanization continues to rise. In developing countries, it has
evolved into a significant environmental challenge driven by economic growth and
increased consumption, resulting in a surge in solid waste generation. In many cities
of lower-middle-income countries, the existing solid waste management systems are
falling short of their objectives, performing inadequately, and contributing to adverse
sustainability impacts on urban growth and development.

Wastes (solid and liquid) is not only increasing in composition but also
changing in quantity (Owusu-Sekyere, 2015). UN Habitat (2008) indicated that
present-day municipal solid waste (MSW) generates waste amounting to 277 million
tons annually. Low and middle-income countries generate 12.2% and 57.1% of that
waste respectively, whilst high income countries generate 30.7%. The anticipated rise
in this figure is set to reach 677 million tons by the year 2025. High-income countries
are expected to contribute 12.7% to this total, whereas middle and low-income
countries are projected to contribute 16.4% and 70.9%, respectively (UN Habitat,
2008).

That being so, efficient solid waste management is crucial. Solid waste
management involves overseeing the generation, storage, collection, transfer,
transport processing, and disposal of solid wastes. This process should adhere to
principles of engineering, conservation, aesthetics, and other environmental
considerations, all while being responsive to public attitudes. Nevertheless, there is a
tendency to neglect solid waste management (Masood, Barlow, & Wilson, 2009).
Issues such as improper waste disposal, inefficient waste collection, and the absence
of disposal facilities are areas of concern regarding solid waste management in the
Philippines (Matunog & Awa, 2013; Senate Economics Planning Office, 2017).
Consequently, the Philippines has been identified as a leading global contributor to
plastic pollution (WWF-Philippines, 2018). Moreover, inadequate solid waste
management can pose health risks to residents and lead to environmental
problems like water and soil contamination, air pollution, flooding, and other
socioeconomic challenges (Abu Qdais, 2007). Sharholy et al., 2008; Senate Economic
Planning Office, 2017). Improper solid waste can affect our health, affecting both the
physical and psychological well- being of students.

Statement of the Problem

At the end of this study, the solutions to the problems will be known and the
following questions will be answered;
1. What are the Solid Waste Management procedures of learners in terms of:
A. Segregation;
B. Waste Disposal; and
C. Waste Recycling and reuse?

2. What is the level of awareness of learners regarding solid waste management?

3. What is the level of learners’ awareness corresponds relevantly with the way they
handle their solid wastes?

4. What initiatives could improve the learners’ solid waste management awareness
and practices?

Scope and Delimitation

The scope of our study is to find the level of awareness and practices in Solid
Waste Management among Junior Highschool Learners.

This research is delimited only for the Junior High School students of Saytan
Integrated School. The purpose of our study is to point out the level of awareness and
practices in solid waste management and the aims are to determine whether the
awareness and practices in solid waste management has a bad or good impact to the
learners.
Importance of the Study

This research contributes to the success of future researches and will also play a great
contribution to the following;

Community- Raise awareness and educate the community about the responsible
waste disposal. This can encourage individuals to do sustainable waste management
practices, such as recycling, composting, and reducing waste generation.
Students- It equips students with knowledge and motivation to make a difference,
promoting a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable learning environment for
everyone.

Future Researchers- Future researchers will know more about solid waste
management and they will be aware of do’s and don'ts. This will be a way or guide so
that they can understand better and know what to do to keep the environment clean.

Definition of Terms

Disposal - the action or process of throwing away or getting rid of something.

Solid Waste Management- the complete process of collecting, treating and disposing
of solid wastes.

Practices - the actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method, as opposed to

theories relating to it.

Environment - the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant

lives or operates

Learning Environment - It encompasses everything that affects the learning process.

Conceptual Framework

Level of awareness and

Independent Variable practices

Solid Waste Management

Dependent Variable
4
Figure 1. The Schematic Diagram of the Independent and Dependent Variables of the
study.

This Conceptual Framework shows the independent and dependent variables of the study.
It is assumed to be the imp acs of improper Solid Waste Management on the learning
environment of learners.

Input Process Output

The Input profile of 1. Data collection of
students according Student’s Profiles.
to their: To determine the
level of awareness
2. Providing
1. Demographic
Questionnaires. and practices of
Profile learners in solid
a. Age waste management.
b. Gender 3. Organization of
student’s responses.
2. Awareness in
A.Segregation; 4. Statistical Analysis
of data.
B.Waste Disposal
C.Waste Recycling
and reuse

Figure 2. The schematic diagram of the Input, Process, and Output Approach of the
Study.

The conceptual framework that was used in this study is the Input-Process-Output
Model. The input is the profile of the students according to their name, age, grade
level, and gender. The research process includes the data collection of student’s
profiles, providing questionnaires, organization of student’s responses, and statistical
analysis of data. Lastly, the output represents the solution to the problems.
 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

According to Joy Telu, et. al, (2017) Waste Management in School continues
to generate thoughts, interest and research because of the huge amounts of he refuse
that schools generation which include papers, cartons, cons, broken, bottles, polymers
which can be recycled but are rather turned out as rubbish to be collected as refuse.
These refusefrom schools are collected alongside other household refuses and heaped
on streats or refuse dump with in antecedent health challenges which include
unsightly heap of refuse, the odour emanating from such heap and the heap being a
bbreeding ground for disease vectors like mosquitoes, cockroaches, rodents. Reptiles.
Among others all the significant contributors of environmental waste, schools have
composition has not been reported or has been underestimated hence the present paper
is an attempt to fill up this gap in knowledge.

According to (Wolkite, Ethiopia) Poor solid waste management, among other

urban social problems, has currently become a concern of the local government of
developing countries including the public at large. The environemental problems
related to poor solid waste manvgement activates contine to get importance in terms
of public health Hussein Mona. In regard to the sources of solid waste, it understood
that the poorly collected and manvged solid wastes of the study area due to the lack of
necessary materials and facilities of solid waste collection, lack of labors engaged in
street sweeping and daily removal of solid waste is now becoming the major causes of
enironemental problems such as surface and goundwater pollution problems.

According to Ericson E. Coracero, et.al (2021) Solid waste managemenet is

considered a pressing global is considered a pressing global issue calling for an
immediate response from the govermenet and its people. The importance of
envisioning a trash-free Philippines and ecncouraging people’s participation and
awareness is also emphasized. Another possible solution to solid waste management
is valorization which can also address other environmental problems such as the
depletion of natural resources.
 According to Busisiwe Mkhonto & Lindelani (2021) Findings showed that
participating in a rural school-based recycling project may not enchance Grade7
Natural Sciences learners’ perceptions of, attitudes towards and understanding of
recycling. We posit that various factors may affect the effecetiveness of a recycling
project.

According to Margarita C. Paghasian (2017) To achieve effective and

susstainable implementation of the proper waste management practices, awarenss
with participation is the key to be involved in the Solid waste Mangement program of
an institution.

According to Romenick Alejandro Molina & Ivee Catan (2021) This study presents
the solid waste management awareness and practices among senior high school
students in a state college. Results revealed that students have enough knowledge in
terms on definition of solid waste disposal, solid waste probihited activities, school
initiave towards solid waste, importance of solid waste management and students’
responsibilities. However, students have low knowledge on the different laws relevant
to solid waste management.

According to Favour Chukumela Woko (2022).Based on the findings, the study

recommended among the following that there should be Waste disposal equipment for
schools to avoid dumping waste in the environment and to also avoid decay of these
wastes in the school environment to avoid many disease, an adequate dumping sites
for solid waste provided by government for schools, the dumping sites for refuse
should be far away from the schools environment
 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

Research Design
The research design chosen for this study is descriptive correlational research. This
approach seeks to understand the relationships between different things without
making claims about cause and effect. The study specifically delves into studying the
level of awareness and practices in solid waste management among junior high school
learners. The descriptive correlational design will allow the researcher to thoroughly
investigate the level of awareness and practices of the learners in solid waste
management.

Source of Data
Locale and Population of the Study. The population of the study was composed of
Junior High School students of Saytan Integrated School. Systematic sampling
technique was utilized. Random sampling is a probability sampling method in which
the researcher randomly selects a subset of participants from a population. Each
member of the population has an equal chance of being selected. – for example, the
names of 25 students being chosen out of a hat from a Junior High School Department
of 250 students. In this case, the population is all 250 students, and the sample is
random because each student has an equal chance of being chosen. Since there are
245 students in grade 7-10 of Saytan Integrated School, we will be selecting our
respondents through random sampling. Thus, respondents were chosen randomly.

Instrumentation and Data Collection

The data-gathering instrument that we used was a survey questionnaire. The
researcher used this method of data gathering for it is known to be less biased and the
least costly way of collecting data. It also encourages the respondents to be more
collaborative because it is much more easy to respond and much more open to options
but still related and specific to the type of research that the researcher

Data Analysis
Design. Non-experimental research using a correlational descriptive approach with
an explanatory design.
Descriptive statistical analysis were performed on the sample groups to obtain a clear
understanding of the population. Measures of central tendency (means, medians and
other percentiles) and dispersion (standard deviations, ranges) were computed.
Correlational descriptive analysis were managed in order to evaluate the level of
awareness and practices of Junior Highschool learners in solid waste management.