Public awareness, education and participation in solid waste management in Tehran

Background and objectives: Public participation in is vital in optimal management of municipal solid waste. Thepublic awareness, education and empowerment are the pre-requisites for the use of this potential. In this study, public awareness, education and participation in solid waste management were studied among a community samplein Tehran-2012. Materials and methods: The overall situation of solid waste management in Tehran was firstly assessed. Study participants were, thereafter, sampled from households from the 22 urban districts in the city of Tehran. A questionnaire was prepared and applied to 500 householders to estimate the public awareness, education and participation in solid waste management.Results: The results of this study showed that only about one-third of people had appropriate awareness in the field of solid waste management. The overall status of public education in solid waste management was also insufficient, so that 86% of people were trained at level of poor or very poor. Public participation in solid waste management was variable in different fields. Public participation in simple activities such as avoiding waste spillage and splurge in public places and scheduled transfer of collected waste to public containers was relatively good; and in waste reduction and separation of recyclable components was moderate. Furthermore, separation of hazardous waste and household composting were not done due to lack of required facilities and training.Conclusion: The present study revealed that public education and required facilities should be supplied and expanded in order to increase public participation in solid waste management. Repetition and continuity of education programs, face to face training, and greater use of television and Internet media are emphasized.Keywords: Public education, Public participation, Municipal solid waste, Tehran Cit