Study of Household Attitude toward Recycling of Solid Wastes: a Case Study

Solid waste management is a growing problem in Malaysia. For this reason the government of Malaysia through the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (MOHLG) have taken various measures to promote recycling amongst its population. Recently, a nationwide campaign was launched to get the people to recycle their wastes. Recycling centers equipped with separate recycling bins for different recyclables have been set up across the country. In addition, publicity drives using the newsprint, the electronics media on top of the other modes of information dissemination such as seminars, workshops and meetings were held on a continuous basis over the years. However, despite the effort little has been achieved due to the lack of participation from the households. This paper identifies the reasons for the failure of the campaign. Data were gathered using a mailout questionnaire to 400 randomly chosen households. Quantitative analysis made based on 347 responds received indicated that although all of the respondents had a positive attitude towards recycling only a few did recycle. The poor response is largely due to the lack of facilities provided. Many residents are turned down when they are unable to locate the recycling centers and if they are able to locate one, it seems too troublesome to be needed.