FACTORS AFFECTING HOUSEHOLD PARTICIPATION IN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SEGREGATION AND RECYCLING IN BANGKOK, THAILAND

The number of population in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, is increasing every year. The capital produces about 9,900 tons of garbage daily or 1.53 kilograms per person which only 13% of waste is recycled per day. This presents a serious challenge and concern of municipal authority in solid waste management. This study examines Bangkok residents' practices, knowledge of waste management, as well as the level of community mobilization and the level of household participation in solid waste segregation and recycling. One-way Analysis of Varience (ANOVA) was employed to test whether there was statistically significance between the level of household participation among different zones in Bangkok. Additionally, the study also analyzed factors affecting the level of household participation using Multiple Regression Analysis. Data were collected by means of hand-delivered questionnaires. A total of 400 respondents were selected using multi-stage random sampling by dividing Bangkok into three zones. The results showed that about two-thirds of the residents had got high level on knowledge and understanding on solid waste management. However, the results of ANOVA revealed that there was no significant difference between the level of household participation among residents who live in different zones. The level of participation in solid waste segregation and recycling of households in Bangkok was significantly influenced by promoting campaign and training programs continuously from local authorities and age of the residents. Finally, the discussion of the results of the study is presented and further study is also mentioned.