Correlation between the knowledge and awareness on solid waste management and the waste density in the coastal areas of Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
Paper Details
Correlation between the knowledge and awareness on solid waste management and the waste density in the coastal areas of Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship of the knowledge and awareness of solid waste management (SWM) to the actual waste density in the coastal barangays of Talibon, Bohol namely: Santo Niño, San Francisco, Bagacay and San Pedro. Mixed-methods approach was used to explore this relationship, where surveys were conducted to find out residents’ knowledge and awareness of SWM and field measurements were taken to measure the waste density in the study sites. The results showed no significant relationship between residents’ knowledge and awareness of SWM and actual waste density observed in the coastal barangays. The results suggest that awareness and knowledge are not sufficient on their own to change waste management outcomes. However, despite high levels of SWM knowledge and awareness among respondents, improper waste disposal practices continued to prevail, largely due to weak policy enforcement, inadequate waste management infrastructure, limited garbage collection services and the remoteness of material recovery facilities (MRFs). These findings collectively underscore the importance of institutional and infrastructural factors in influencing waste management practices beyond individual awareness. Thus, the study highlights the need to improve implementation of waste management policies, optimize the waste collection systems, and promote community-based interventions that can successfully translate environmental awareness into tangible waste mitigation outcomes. The findings ultimately provide useful insights to LGUs and environmental organizations in designing more effective, context-specific and sustainable solid waste management strategies for coastal communities.
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Copyright © 2026 by the Authors. This article is an open access article and distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) license.