Determinants of Household Participation in Solid Waste Segregation

Solid waste management practice is a matter of concern for public health and environmental protection and has become a major challenge in most developing countries. Improper waste management can bear adverse consequences on public health, environment, and natural resources. Many governments have been implemented several strategy in dealing with solid waste in a sustainable way, and recycling is one of them. However, a recycling program can only be successful if the community support and actively participate in it, and as the largest stakeholder, households have important role especially in waste source segregation. Therefore, it can be argued that households’ participation, especially in source segregation, is essential in the successfulness of recycling activity. Depok have been implemented recycling programme to deal with solid waste problem since 2006. A source separation from the source is introduced in this recycling programme. Therefore, households participation is essential. However, recent survey held in 2011 and 2015 have showed low household participation and there are only 1% increase of household participation in waste segregation from 32% in 2011 into 33% in 2015 (Health Agency City of Depok, 2015). In general, many researches have focusing to enhance in studying household participation in waste recycling programme with the objectives to enhance their participation. However, most of the researches that have been done were based on the psychological perspective. Recent studies have shown that situational factors need to be incorporated, as recycling also relies on practical issues rather than only on psychological motivations. Accordingly, this research incorporated both approaches that include psychological and situational factors to understand household participation in waste source segregation. This research aimed to understand the influence of psychological and situational factors on household participation in waste source segregation within Depok Waste Recycling Programme. By doing so, we hope to find the conditions and kind of interventions which may enhance cooperation for the implementation of Depok recycling program. Survey is chosen as the strategy of this research. Questionnaire, interview, and field observation is used as research instruments. A total of 176 respondents for the questionnaire was obtained. As analysis tools, either independent T-test or Chi-square test was used in order to differentiate household participation in waste segregation. This research also used binary logistic to analysis which psychological and situational factors influence household participation. Binary logistic analysis was used because the dependent variable was designed in dichotomous variable based on the household self-reporting response on waste segregation practice. The research finds that household participation could be distinguished by psychological and situational factor. In term of psychological factor, household participation can be distinguished by their attitude towards waste segregation, subjective norms, and perceived easiness. In term of situational factor, both groups can be distinguished by their perception regarding facility quality, source of information regarding recycling programme, concrete knowledge about the type of recyclables material, and the importance of monetary incentives. Additionally, in term of demographic attributes, both groups can be distinguished by family income, and level of education between the two groups. Further finding, only external subjective norms and perceived capability, number of source information regarding recycling Determinants of Household Participation in Solid Waste Segregation: a case study in Depok, Indonesia iii programme, knowledge of waste type, and the presence of children under ten years old, significantly influences household participation in waste source segregation.