Attitudes and behavior of middle-income housewives towards minimization, sorting and recycling of municipal solid waste

Abstract

Municipal Solid Waste Management forms the core of municipal services and cannot be well managed without community cooperation. The municipality of Tripoli conducted a 6-month pilot project on waste minimization, sorting and recycling. It involved the cooperation among the municipality, a non governmental organization, the contractor collecting the waste and the community especially the housewives who are essential in its implementation. The objective was to investigate the housewives attitude and behavior in MWM in a medium-income district of Tripoli City in their homes. The results showed that Women's cooperation is essential for the long-term success of any project concerning urban services especially that the volunteer women proved to be the controlling factor in achieving the project objectives which resulted in the reduction of 7% of the quantity of waste produced per month, and the separation and recycling of 18% at the end of the period. Furthermore, attitudes and behavior of housewives towards municipal solid waste were positively influenced by public information and educational measures, improved waste collection system, managerial system and cooperation among stakeholders. The study indicated also that an effective and sustainable MSWM cannot be achieved by focusing on the technical aspect alone.