Survey on public awareness and participation in waste separation from Behbahan city

At present, public awareness and participation in waste separation from the source have not been applicable much due to the management rules and lack of familiarity with the urban affairs of the city administration. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the level of public awareness and participation in waste separation in Behbahan city. For this purpose, a descriptive and analytical research method was used by the field method. The statistical population of the study was the citizens of Behbahan city in 2019 among whom a sample of 384 people was selected by simple random sampling and a questionnaire was distributed. The results showed that 50.5% of the population had a moderate level of knowledge regarding waste separation. Based on the level of awareness of the subject, people are aware of: the need to separate waste from the source for a sustainable society, to have adequate information for waste storage, to protect the environment by reducing waste generation, and to reduce environmental pollution by reducing waste generation, respectively. However, they were poorly aware of the usefulness of separating waste from the source for the community and having space for the waste generated with the economic benefits of waste collection. The findings also showed that 58.8% of the people are low in terms of participation. Based on the extent of popular participation by the subject; based on the use of waste separation training programs by source, separation of recyclable waste components from source and avoidance of spillage of waste on the street, motivation, and purpose in separating waste from source, respectively were good partnerships. But they were poorly involved in planning to reduce waste production and participate in training programs.