Using Factor Analysis to Understand the Influence of Individual Perception on Plastic Waste Disposal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47540/ijsei.v3i3.623Keywords:
Factor Analysis, Perception, Plastic Waste Disposal, Pollution, Principal Component AnalysisAbstract
One of the major plastic pollution problems is the understanding of the ideology underpinning their disposal. Consequently, this research aims at evaluating the factors that influence respondents’ decisions on managing their plastic waste and investigate respondents’ awareness of the health and safety issues associated with inappropriate plastic waste disposal. This research used a descriptive design. 360 individuals were randomly selected in three districts within the Cape Coast Metropolis. The data collection instrument was a structured questionnaire. The results showed that the influential factors listed according to the decreasing value of factor loading are the idea that municipal authorities’ inadequate collection of wastes, lack of education, notion that plastics are more durable than paper, the long distances of the individual to a dustbin, the lack of information on the alternatives to reduce plastic waste, the increased number of people living in the area, the high amount of plastic packaging, the lack of adequate information on proper methods to dispose of plastic waste, the attitudinal problems, the lack of infrastructure for recycling the plastic waste and the weak enforcement of existing bye-laws on sanitation. The factor loading values are 0.84, 0.82, 0.80, 0.72 ,0.71, 0.68, 0.67, 0.66, 0.64, 0.61, 0.58 respectively.
Downloads
References
Adam, I., Walker, T. R., Clayton, C. A., & Bezerra, J. C. (2021). Attitudinal and behavioural segments on single-use plastics in Ghana: Implications for reducing marine plastic pollution. Environmental Challenges, 4, 100185.
Ahmad, H., & Halim, H. (2017). Determining Sample Size for Research Activities. Selangor Business Review, 2(1), 20-34.
Alabi, O. A., Ologbonjaye, K. I., Awosolu, O., & Alalade, O. E. (2019). Public and environmental health effects of plastic wastes disposal: a review. J Toxicol Risk Assess, 5(021), 1-13.
Alimba, C. G., & Faggio, C. (2019). Microplastics in the marine environment: current trends in environmental pollution and mechanisms of toxicological profile. Environmental Toxicology. Pharmacology, 68, 61-74.
Almasi, A., Mohammadi, M., Azizi, A., Berizi, Z., Shamsi, K., Shahbazi, A., & Mosavi, S. A. (2019). Assessing the knowledge, attitude, and practice of the kermanshahi women towards reducing, recycling, and reusing municipal solid waste. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 141, 329-338.
Bandalos, D. L., & Finney, S. J. (2018). Factor analysis: Exploratory and confirmatory. In The reviewer’s guide to quantitative methods in the social sciences. Routledge.
Bazerman, M. H., & Moore, D. A. (2012). Judgment in managerial decision making. John Wiley & Sons.
Bebbington, J., & Unerman, J. (2018). Achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: an enabling role for accounting research. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 31 (1), 2-24.
Bhattacharya, R. R. N., Chandrasekhar, K., Roy, P., & Khan, A. (2018). Challenges and opportunities: plastic waste management in India. The Energy and Resource Institute.
Borrelle, S. B., Ringma, J., Law, K. L., Monnahan, C. C., Lebreton, L., McGivern, A., Murphy, E., Jambeck, J., &Rochman, C. M. (2020). Predicted growth in plastic waste exceeds efforts to mitigate plastic pollution. Science, 369 (6510), 1515-1518
Cai, K., Song, Q., Peng, S., Yuan, W., Liang, Y., & Li, J. (2020). Uncovering residents’ behaviors, attitudes, and WTP for recycling e-waste: a case study of Zhuhai city, China. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(2), 2386-2399.
Cammas-Marion, S., & Martínez-Barbosa, M. E. (2021). Microbial polyesters: synthesis and applications. Fundamentals of Natural Fibres and Textiles. Woodhead Publishing.
Chae, Y., & An, Y. J. (2018). Current research trends on plastic pollution and ecological impacts on the soil ecosystem: A review. Environmental pollution, 240, 387-395.
Chang, X., Xue, Y., Li, J., Zou, L., & Tang, M. (2020). Potential health impact of environmental micro‐and nanoplastics pollution. Journal of Applied Toxicology, 40 (1), 4-15.
Cheang, C. C., Cheung, T. Y., So, W. W. M., Cheng, I. N. Y., Fok, L., Yeung, C. H., & Chow, C. F. (2019). Enhancing pupils’ pro-environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours toward plastic recycling: A quasi-experimental study in primary schools. In Environmental sustainability and education for waste management. Springer, Singapore.
Chen, S. (2022). British dairy farmers’ management attitudes towards agricultural plastic waste: reduce, reuse, recycle. Polymer International, 71(12), 1418-1424.
Cheng, V. M. (2019). Developing individual creativity for environmental sustainability: Using an everyday theme in higher education. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 33, 100567.
Coşkun, A., & Özbük, R. M. Y. (2020). What influences consumer food waste behavior in restaurants? An application of the extended theory of planned behavior. Waste Management, 117, 170-178.
Dilkes-Hoffman, L. S., Pratt, S., Laycock, B., Ashworth, P., & Lant, P. A. (2019). Public attitudes towards plastics. Resource Conservation and Recycling, 147, 227-235.
Djekic, I., Miloradovic, Z., Djekic, S., & Tomasevic, I. (2019). Household food waste in Serbia–Attitudes, quantities and global warming potential. Journal of Cleaner Production, 229, 44-52.
Drimili, E., Herrero-Martin, R., Suardiaz-Muro, J., &Zervas, E. (2020). Public views and attitudes about municipal waste management: Empirical evidence from Athens, Greece. Waste Management & Research, 38(6), 614-625.
Ghana Statistical Service. (2022). https://census2021.statsghana.gov.gh/newspage.php?readmorenews=MjM0ODgzNjQxMy41MDg1&GSS-completes-release-of-2021-PHC-General-Reports. Retrieved 02/06/2022
Grimmer, M., Woolley, M., (2014) Green marketing messages and consumers’ purchase intentions: promoting personal versus environmental benefits. Journal of Marketing and Communication, 20(4), 231-250.
Heidbreder, L. M., Bablok, I., Drews, S., Menzel, C. (2019). Tackling the plastic problem: A review on perceptions, behaviours, and interventions. Science of the Total Environment, 668, 1077-1093.
Ilyas, M., Ahmad, W., Khan, H., Yousaf, S., Khan, K., & Nazir, S. (2018). Plastic waste as a significant threat to environment–a systematic literature review. Reviews on environmental health, 33(4), 383-406.
Islam, S. D. U., Safiq, M. B., Bodrud-Doza, M., & Mamun, M. A. (2020). Perception and attitudes toward PPE-related waste disposal amid Covid-19 in Bangladesh: an exploratory study. Frontiers in Public Health, 8, 592345.
Jambeck, J., Hardesty, B. D., Brooks, A. L., Friend, T., Teleki, K., Fabres, J., & Wilcox, C. (2018). Challenges and emerging solutions to the land-based plastic waste issue in Africa. Marine Policy, 96, 256-263.
Khanam, N., Wagh, V., Gaidhane, A. M., & Quazi, S. Z. (2019). Knowledge, attitude and practice on uses of plastic products, their disposal and environmental pollution: A study among school-going adolescents. Journal of Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences University, 14(2), 57.
Kim, M. J., Hall, C. M., & Kim, D. K. (2020). Predicting environmentally friendly eating out behavior by value-attitude-behavior theory: does being vegetarian reduce food waste?. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 28 (6), 797-815.
Kurtela, A., & Antolović, N. (2019). The problem of plastic waste and microplastics in the seas and oceans: impact on marine organisms. Croatian Journal of Fisheries, 77(1), 51-56.
Leal Filho, W., Raath, S., Lazzarini, B., Vargas, V. R., de Souza, L., Anholon, R., & Orlovic, V. L. (2018). The role of transformation in learning and education for sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production, 199, 286-295.
Leggett, W. (2014). The politics of behaviour change: Nudge, neoliberalism and the state. Policy Politics, 42(1), 3-19.
Lestari, P., & Trihadiningrum, Y. (2019). The impact of improper solid waste management to plastic pollution in Indonesian coast and marine environment. Marine pollution bulletin, 149, 110505.
Liwicki, S., Tzimiropoulos, G., Zafeiriou, S., & Pantic, M. (2013). Euler principal component analysis. International Journal of Computer Vision, 101(3), 498-518.
Miezah, K., Obiri-Danso, K., Kádár, Z., Fei-Baffoe, B., & Mensah, M. Y. (2015). Municipal solid waste characterization and quantification as a measure towards effective waste management in Ghana. Wastemanagement, 46, 15-27.
Negussie, B., &Mustefa, J. (2017). Community’s perception of utilisation and disposal of plastic bags in Eastern Ethiopia. Pollution, 3 (1), 147-156.
Opoko, A. P., & Oluwatayo, A. A. (2016). Influence of Socio-Economic Factors of Residents of Informal Settlements on their Choice of Waste Disposal Method: Evidence from Lagos, Nigeria. Covenant. Journal of Research in the Built Environment, 4(1), 67-85.
Resma, N. S., Meaze, A. M. H., Hossain, S., Khandaker, M. U., Kamal, M., & Deb, N. (2020). The presence of toxic metals in popular farmed fish species and estimation of health risks through their consumption. Open Physics, 5, 100052.
Reynolds, K. J., Subašić, E., & Tindall, K. (2015). The problem of behaviour change: From social norms to an ingroup focus. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 9(1), 45-56.
Rhodes, C. J. (2018). Plastic pollution and potential solutions. Science progress, 101(3), 207-260.
Samuels, P. (2017). Advice on exploratory factor analysis. Birmingham City University.
Sarantakos, S. (2012). Social Research. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Sauerbrei, W., Perperoglou, A., Schmid, M. et al. (2020) State of the art in selection of variables and functional forms in multivariable analysis-outstanding issues. Diagnostic and Prognostic Research 4, 3.
Stoler, J., Weeks, J. R., & Fink, G. (2012). Sachet drinking water in Ghana’s Accra-Tema metropolitan area: past, present, and future. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 2(4), 223-240.
Udawatta, N., Zuo, J., Chiveralls, K., Yuan, H., George, Z., & Elmualim, A. (2018). Major factors impeding the implementation of waste management in Australian construction projects. Journal of Green Building, 13(3), 101-121.
UNEP, A. (2016). The Rise of Environmental Crime. Nairobi: UNEP.
Walker, T. R., & Xanthos, D. (2018). A call for Canada to move toward zero plastic waste by reducing and recycling single-use plastics. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 133, 99-100.
Watts, A. J., Porter, A., Hembrow, N., Sharpe, J., Galloway, T. S., & Lewis, C. (2017). Through the sands of time: beach litter trends from nine cleaned North Cornish beaches. Environmental Pollution, 228, 416-424.
World Health Organization. (2014). Chemicals of Public Health Concern and their management in the African Region. Regional Assessment Report.
Zand, A. D., Heir, A. V., & Tabrizi, A. M. (2020). Investigation of knowledge, attitude, and practice of Tehranian women apropos of reducing, reusing, recycling, and recovery of urban solid waste. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 192(7), 1-13.
Zen, I. S., Ahamad, R., & Omar, W. (2013). No plastic bag campaign day in Malaysia and the policy implication. Environ. Dev. Sustainability, 15(5), 1259-1269.
Zwicker, M. V., Nohlen, H. U., Dalege, J., Gruter, G. J. M., & van Harreveld, F. (2020). Applying an attitude network approach to consumer behaviour towards plastic. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 69, 101433.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2022 Christian Julien Isac Gnimadi, Michael Aboah, Kokoutse Gawou

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.