Knowledge, attitudes, awareness and practices on household hazardous waste disposal among undergraduate students in Selangor, Malaysia

The exponential growth of population in Malaysia and the consequently growing number of residences have aggravated the problem of household waste. Like many other towns of Selangor, a small town located in every district of Selangor also faces serious problems in terms of household hazardous waste disposal. The households of every district of Selangor generate and discharge a huge amount of untreated hazardous waste daily. In this study, an attempt has been made to analyze the scenario of household hazardous waste disposal in Selangor by means of a Knowledge, Attitude, Awareness and Practices (KAP) survey. Interview and personal observation were used to collect the data. The data collected were tabulated and processed to supplement the analysis through them. This study was using Microsoft Excel to obtain percentage and correlation. The findings show that the average level of knowledge among students was 89.8%. While the average awareness level was 93.7%. The average attitude level for them is 91.8%. Lastly was 44% for practice level. Generally, this paper validates how knowledge influences attitude that subsequently determines behavior particularly in household hazardous waste management as intervened by appropriate environmental education. This study also indicates towards many positive aspects along with the negative ones. The positive aspects are mostly related to the awareness and efforts made by the students, whereas the negative aspects are mostly related to the improper methods of waste disposal adopted by the students and the existing scenario of the disposed waste. It is suggested that the household hazardous disposal practice can be improved by introduce more extensive program in university collaborated with related agencies.