EFFECT OF LITTERED CAN IN THE ENVIRONMENT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background of the study

Increasing scenes of trash and its side-effect have made the studies on community attitude and littering behaviour of immense interest to scholars. The Tasmanian litter Act, 1973 describes litter as “Rubbish, refuse, Junk, filth, unwanted by the owner or possessor thereof”. Studies on littering have tended to associate it with attitudes. According to Fishbein and Ajzen (1995), attitude and behaviour are in fact related. The concept of attitudes is central to explaining our thoughts, feelings, and actions with regards to other people, situations and ideas. Attitude implies feelings that are either positive or negative. Attitude has been regarded as the most distinctive and indispensable concept in social psychology. In fact, it is one of the most widely used terms of social relations (Berkowitz, 1972b). Attitude is an idea charged with emotion which predisposes a class of action to a particular class of social situations or objects. This definition suggests that attitudes have three interconnected components. a) The cognitive components; this is the rational information basis of attitudes, b) The affective component relating to the issue of like or dislike. It is believed that our most intensely held attitudes in particular are primarily affective in nature, and c) the connotative component which is the strength of a person’s behavioral tendencies towards any object. These three components form the basis for the thoughts and intentions that combine to make-up the structure of individual attitude. It is well established that we perceive a significant influence of those close to us (such as family and friends) on our everyday behavior. It has been proven that there is also perceived influence on our behavior by “unknown others” such as the mass media about our conception of social norms and actual behaviors. It has been observed that an individual’s attitude is the most significant factor in predicting his actual behavior. That is, how strongly will a behavior, such as putting garbage in the gutters, be punished by other social actors, or how strongly will proper disposal behavior be rewarded by social actors (or indeed by your own self – image and belief in being a good citizen. A significant part of the volume of trash generated around the world ends up as litter. Litters are collected from homes, schools, industrial arena, public parks and forests, alongside high ways and water ways, and on private land. Apart from being profoundly ugly, litters are a health and safety hazard capable of causing serious damage to plant and animal life. The problem of littering is not only an urban issue. Essentially, 37 percent of littering occurs at transition point; that is, as people move from one area to another (community change, 2001). Most residential areas are family oriented (neighbourhood) and generate large volumes of litters. The challenge of properly disposing such trash has resulted in the increasing volumes of litter around homes. The presence of litter in the community exposes citizen to diseases, such as cholera, malaria and other air and water borne disease. Littering is environmentally destructive, and represents a hazard to plant and animal life because litter contain injurious objects, such as syringes, broken bottles, plastics, metals and broken glasses that can hurt not only children but adults. In some are area where there is the presence of large amounts of uncollected trash by the wayside it has been noticed to be responsible for traffic disruption. It is also associated with causing floods in parts of the country. While proper use of litter could produce economic advantages, its non-utilization represents a serious cost on local authorities responsible for its collection and proper disposal. Littering has been found to take place at transition point i.e. where people move from one place to the other. Market places cannot be left out in this regard. The high rate of littering is as a result of a feeling of sense of non-ownership of the property as the land does not seem to belong to anybody. Nevertheless, litter originates through the actions of people. Changing the action and litter habits of people is related to long term litter prevention and control. Unfortunately, people who will never purposefully harm their community, animals or other people do so by littering. Another less documented problem with litter is its social impact. Areas that have large amount of litters easily become a magnet for criminal hideouts. In most communities in Nigeria littering behavior is not limited to a specific age group or the individual. People of all ages have been found to be involved in littering behaviors. Studies as to which group litter the most remains contentious as some scholars’ believe that young people litter more than aged; (community change, 2002). Some studies suggest that male beings litter more than females, and people who live alone litter more than those in groups. Findings on attitude towards littering revealed that attitudes are affected by social norms, awareness, values, modeling, prompts and rewards. Littering has gone from being viewed primarily as an aesthetic problem to a broader environmental issue. However, despite attempts to examine differences in conservation behavior across communities, most studies relating to littering conducted examined this behavior at the individual level. This study examines the determinants of group littering behavior in Edo metropolis.

• STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

 Littering of can and other solid waste has gone from being viewed primarily as an aesthetic problem to a broader environmental issue. However, despite attempts to examine differences in conservation behavior across d can in the communities, most studies relating to littering conducted examined this behavior at the individual level, it is in view of this that the researcher intend to investigate the effect of littered can in the environment.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The main objective of this study is to ascertain the effect of littered can in the environment, with emphasis on Edo state. But for the successful completion of the study; the researcher intend to achieve the following objective;

1. To ascertain the effect of littered can on the environment.
2. To investigate the impact of littered can on the health of the populace

• To ascertain if there is any significant relationship between littered can and the environmental well being

1. To ascertain the role of the government in eliminating the rate of littered can in the environment

1.4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

For the successful completion of the study, the researcher formulated the following research hypotheses;

H₀: littered can does not have any significant effect in the environment

H₁: littered can does have a significant effect in the environment.

H₀²: littered can does not have any significant impact on the health of the populace

H₂: littered can does have a significant impact on the health of the populace.

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is believed that at the completion of the study the findings will be of great importance to the federal ministry of environment who are saddle with the responsibility of waste management and environmental control in the country and at state level respectively. The study will also be of great important to waste management agency; to guide them on how to formulate policy that will discourage indiscriminate waste disposal in the state. The study will also be useful to researchers who intend to embark on research in similar topic, Finally the findings of this study will also be immense benefit to government, academia, scholars, researchers and the general public.

1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of this study covers the effect of littered can in the environment with emphasis on Edo state. But in the course of the study, the researcher encounters some constrain which limited the scope of the study;

1. a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study.
2. b) TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities        and examinations with the study.
3. c) FINANCE: The finance available for the research work does not allow for wider coverage as resources are very limited as the        researcher has other academic bills to cover.

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

SOLID WASTE

The American Public Liquid Association in 1975 defined solid waste as unwanted and useless material with insufficient liquid content to be free flowing, because of its sticky nature, solid waste has the ability to accumulating and physically insulting and degrading the environment if not well managed.

Management

Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a not-for-profit organization, or government body. Management includes the activities of setting the strategy of an organization and coordinating the efforts of its employees or volunteers to accomplish its objectives through the application of available resources, such as financial, natural, technological, and human resources. The term “management” may also refer to the people who manage an organization.

Waste

Waste and wastes are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance which is discarded after primary use, or it is worthless, defective and of no use. Examples include municipal solid waste (household trash/refuse), hazardous waste, wastewater (such as sewage, which contains bodily wastes (feces and urine) and surface runoff), radioactive waste, and others

Littered can

Littering simply means throwing away objects on the ground or leaving them lying on the ground instead of disposing them at garbage can, recycling bin or trash container. “Litter consists of waste products that have been disposed improperly, without consent, at an inappropriate location

Litter

Litter consists of waste products that have been disposed improperly, without consent, at an inappropriate location. Litter can also be used as a verb. To litter means to drop and leave objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, cardboard boxes or plastic bottles on the ground and leave them there indefinitely or for others to dispose of as opposed to disposing of them properly.

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows. Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (background of the study), statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope of the study etc. Chapter two being the review of the related literature presents the theoretical framework, conceptual framework and other areas concerning the subject matter.     Chapter three is a research methodology covers deals on the research design and methods adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.  Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.

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