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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

If our personality is defined by the garbage we

disposed, what kind of garbage are we? Some of the students

did not realize that throwing even a tiny candy wrappers can

cause a mountain of garbage if this is done habitually.

Solid Waste Management (SWM) is considered to be one of

the most serious environmental issues in the Philippines.

The annual waste generation was estimated at 10 million tons

in 2010 and this is expected to rise by 40% in 2020 (Jagath

et al, 2013). The Republic Act (RA) 9003, otherwise known as

the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 (Food and

Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2001),

provides the necessary policy framework, institutional

mechanisms and mandate to the local government units (LGUs)

to achieve 25% waste reduction through establishing an

integrated solid waste management plans based on 3Rs

(reduce, reuse and recycling).

It is important to be highly aware and to properly

implement solid waste management practices. Active

participation in solid environment-related problems will

also be practiced even by a students. In this connection the

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researches decided to determine the level of awareness and

solid waste management practices of students at La Carlota

City College.

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical foundation of this research draws upon

knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) theory. The

assumptions of KAP theory indicates that modifications occur

in the health behavior of individuals after seeking health

education and knowledge. It provides a rational model

linking health education and behavioral changes (Ezeruigbo,

et al, 2015). The core postulate of KAP theory emphasizes

three successive stages through which an individual’s

behavior passes in order to adapt to changes. These stages

are: acquisition of related knowledge, attitude modification

and formation of behavior.

Furthermore, KAP theory postulates that acquiring

sufficient knowledge regarding symptoms, causes and ways to

prevent disease inculcates positive attitudes among

individuals about following preventive methods and seeking

medical care. Several previous studies have reported that

individuals’ KAP level was significantly linked to

addressing false perceptions, management of illness, seeking

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healthcare services and embracing disease-preventive

behavior (Bansal, et al, 2015).

Conceptual Framework

This study is anchored on the idea about environmental

knowledge which is used to describe concepts and behavior

patterns related to the environment. This means that once a

person at a young age is aware of his actions, proper

practice will follow.

This study will explore the awareness and practices of

the students in solid waste management. When the students

are aware of the solid waste management, the knowledge will

be translated and reflected in their practices.

The independent variable will be the demographic

profile of the 4th year criminology students such as, sex,

age, parent’s educational attainment, location of residence

and source of information. The independent variable will be

the awareness and practices in solid waste management of the

student.
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Schematic Diagram

Demographic Solid Waste

profiles Management
Awareness
 Sex
 Age
 Parent’s
educational
attainment Solid Waste
 Location of Management
Residence Practices
 Source of
information

Figure 1. The Schematic Diagram of the Study

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the level of awareness and

practices of students on solid waste management of

criminology students.

Specifically, this study seeks to answer the following

questions:

1. What is the profile of the 4th year criminology

students in terms of:

a. Sex

b. Age

c. Location of residence

d. Parent’s educational attainment

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e. Source of information

2. What is the level of awareness of the students in solid

waste management?

3. What is the level of practices of the students in solid

waste management?

4. Is there a significant relationship between the level

of awareness and level of practices of the criminology

students in solid waste management?

Hypothesis of the study

Base on the preceding problems, the hypothesis will be

presented.

There is no significant relationship between the level

of awareness and level of practices of the criminology

students in solid waste management

Significance of the Study

This study will be noteworthy to the following:

School administrators. This study will be beneficial to

the school administrators as the frontlines for strategic

implementation of the SWM intervention programs in the

school as a community.

Teachers. This study will also be beneficial to the

teachers as the strong wing of the school in the

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implementation of intervention programs to gain an adequate

awareness and practices of students in solid waste

management as to effectively mitigate the problem at school

level.

Students. Results of this study will be beneficial to

the students as the recipient of the intervention program,

to gain an in-depth understanding of the importance of

becoming properly knowledgeable and acquire responsible

practices to completely eradicate the problem of solid waste

management in the school.

Future Researchers. Future researchers may conduct

similar studies on the awareness and practices of learners

on the implementation of solid waste management programs.

Scope and Limitation

This study will focus on the level of awareness and

practices of the students in solid waste management. This

study will be participated by officially enrolled 4th year

criminology students of La Carlota City College in the AY

2023-2024. Survey questions on demographic profile,

awareness and practices in solid waste management will be

administer to the sample respondents.

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Definition of Terms

The following conceptual and operational definitions of

the terminology used in this study will be provided for the

convenience of the readers:

Age. It is a state of mind, however the physical length

of time one inhabits the earth and is alive (IGI Global).

Operationally, this refers to the age (in years) of the

learners at the time of answering the survey instrument.

Awareness. It is an information and understanding about

a subject which a person has, or which all people have

(Collins Dictionary).

Operationally, this refers to the awareness of the

participants as measured from the research instrument used.

Location of residence. A location is the place where a

particular point or object exists. Location is an important

term in geography and is usually considered more precise

than "place." A locality is a human settlement: city, town,

village, or even archaeological site (National Geographic

(2022).

Operationally, this refers to the geographical location

of the respondents as to coastal or upland.

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Educational attainment. It refers to the highest level

of education that a person has successfully completed.

Successful completion of a level of education refers to the

achievement of the learning objectives of that level,

typically validated through the assessment of acquired

knowledge, skills and competencies (Statistics Canada

(2021).

Operationally, this term refers to the highest

education attained by the parents of the participants during

the time of the survey.

Practices. These are collective templates for action

that structure society and individual behaviors and are

constructed from elements of meaning, materiality, and

activity to form a pattern that endures; and are materially

bounded and situated activities engaged in by members of a

community that are centrally organized around shared

practical understandings (IGI Global(2022.

Operationally, this refers to the patterns of

activities posed by the learners in response to the solid

waste management programs.

Sex. It is a physical differences between people who

are male, female, or intersex. A person typically has their

sex assigned at birth based on physiological

characteristics, including their genitalia and chromosome

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composition and this assigned sex is called a person’s

“natal sex” (Medical News Today 2021).

Operationally, sex refers to natal sex of the

participants as to male and female.

Solid Waste Management. It is a discipline associated

with control of generation, storage, collection, transport

or transfer processing and disposal of solid waste materials

in a way the best addresses the range of public health,

conservation, economic, aesthetic, engineering and other

environmental consideration (Le Blanc 2020).

Operationally, this term refers to the disposal of

solid waste (such as trash and garbage) in school in

adherence to RA 9003.

Source of information. An information source is a

source of information for somebody, i.e. anything that might

informs a person about something on provide knowledge to

somebody. Information sources may be observations, people

speeches, documents, pictures, organizations, and others

(Vaeshney 2011).

Operationally, this refers to information source of the

participants to determine their awareness on solid waste

management.
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CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the related concepts, theories

from various literature, and readings from the internet

which are thematically arranged to create a visual

representation of the study.

Awareness in Solid Waste Management

Component according to the study of Paghasian (2017),

All the methods of waste prevention and waste management

require public participation. Oliva as cited by Villanueva

(2013) said that education is an important component of

solid waste management that should be present to establish a

good program for the community. Awareness of solid waste

management will create change on how people look at garbage.

People grew up thinking that garbage is garbage, it should

not be touched, or one should not go near to it. They

thought before that all types of garbage should just be

thrown in one container (Sarino, 2014). According to Baula

as cited by Punongbayan (2014), awareness accompanied by

participation is the key for students to be involved in the

waste management program of the schools where effective and

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sustainable implementation of the proper waste management

practices could be achieved.

The Republic Act No. 9003 of the Philippines, otherwise

known as the” Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000”

provides the necessary policy framework, institutional

mechanism and mandate to the local government units (LGUs)

to achieve 25% waste reduction through establishing an

integrated solid waste management plans based on 3Rs

(reduce, reuse and recycle). Hence, in an article posted by

Dana Brejakova (2018) she enumerated the beneficial effects

of applying the 3R’s which are as follows: prevents

pollution caused by reducing the need to harvest new raw

materials, saves energy, reduces greenhouse gas emissions,

helps sustain the environment for future generations, saves

money, and reduces the amount of waste that will need to be

recycled or sent to landfills. James Tang from Singapore

also reiterated how we can practice 3R’s in our everyday

life. He stated that in reducing, the easiest way to reduce

resources in by doing shopping wisely. As much as possible,

buyers must avoid take out foods and the use of disposable

plates and utensils for these items induce more disposals.

In the process of reusing. Tang stated the consumers should

start reusing items as many times and try finishing the life

span of a product before disposing it. He also suggested

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that instead of disposing broken things and buying a new

one, try to manually repair it first. And when you are at

work or in a fast-food chain, he also suggested suggested

that consumers must bring reusable or washable utensils

instead of using disposable ones. In recycling, it just

means splitting our trash into three different categories

and disposing them in recycling bins instead of regular

trash bins.

Chapter VI of the Republic Act No. 9003 paragraph 1

states some of the prohibition acts relating to solid waste

which includes littering, throwing, dumping of waste matters

in public places, such as roads sidewalk, canals, esteros or

parks, and establishment, or causing or permitting the same.

Fines and Penalties. – (a) Any person who violates Sec.48.

paragraph (1) shall, upon conviction, be punished with a

fine of not less than Three hundred pesos (P300.00) but not

more than One thousand pesos(P1,000.00) or render community

service for not less than one (1) day to not more than

fifteen (15) days to an LGU where such prohibited acts are

committed, or both. In an article of the conserve energy

future, they’ve enumerates the effects of illegal dumping on

our environment which are as follows: illegal dumping

damages the environment, illegal dumps can be fire hazards,

dumped rubbish diminishes property value and affects

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tourism, health and safety risk because illegally dumped

materials contain toxic substances, sharp objects, nappies,

contaminated medical waste, asbestos and tires wherein these

materials pose serious health and safety risks to children

who may pick, eat or play with them, the entire community is

also at risk because illegal dumps can block stormwater

drainage system, thereby turning into a breeding ground for

diseases and cause flooding.

In a recent study conducted in Iraq in relation to the

municipal solid waste management system performance during

the Arba’een event in the city of Kerbala revealed that the

said city produces more municipal solid waste (MSW) than

other cities with comparable populations and income levels,

due to the impact of religious events and the absence of

proper municipal solid waste management activities

(Abdulredha, et al, 2020). In a study entitled solid waste

management by (Pathak, et al, 2015), they’ve concluded that

because of improper collection of waste, so many health

problems arises and so it is important to create awareness

to people.

In a study conducted in Thailand regarding solid waste

management solutions for a rapidly area, a simple system

based, around recycling and reusing is proposed. The primary

component of the plan requires appropriate waste separation,

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which takes into account the lifestyle of residents in

urban, rural and commercial areas. The focus should be

on food waste and recyclable materials, which together

comprise almost all of the waste stream. Appropriate

separation containers must be provided, and regular

collections initiated. (Yukalang, et. al, 2018). In a

similar study, also conducted in Thailand with regards to

the barriers to effective solid waste management, the

researchers found out that the Tha Khon Yang Subdistrict

Municipality (TKYSM) must overcome many barriers including

technical, organizational, socio-cultural, financial, legal-

political and population growth (Yukalang, et. al, 2017). In

a study entitled, Sustainability Evaluation of Municipal

Solid Waste Management System for Hanoi (Vietnam) –Why

Choose the ‘Waste-to-Energy Concept, developing countries.

Poor collection and disposal of urban solid waste management

systems are often inadequate in easthetic degradation of the

environment and increased contamination of environmental

compartments. These problems also lead to human health

damage, which can only, be reduced by implementing cost-

effective technical and policy measures. Many incorrect

technologies used in waste management are posing a direct

threat to human health and the environment. (Hoang N. H., et

al, 2020). In a study conducted in Malaysia, sustainable

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solid waste management requires a good policy together with

comprehensive strategies and plan. Public policy, however,

always requires changes and modification time by time to

ensure that the policy is suitable with current situation

(Ta Wee, et. al, 2016). Philippine Catholic Higher Education

Institution and shows that SWM awareness, attitude and

practices of students and University employees are closely

linked, which suggests that one strategic approach to

implement successfully a solid waste management program is

education. It indicates that the school plays an important

role on making individuals conscious of the consequences of

their actions (Madrigal D. v,. 2018). Another similar study

in which the population involve are the rural households

shows that the participating household are ill-informed

about the various aspects of waste management. It was also

found out that minimal effort is done in reusing and

recycling of waste materials among household. Participants

also demonstrated beliefs and practices that are

environmentally unacceptable or unfriendly. Consequently,

these beliefs and practices have resulted in the careless

disposal of waste among people since strict monitoring and

implementing of SWM has not been prioritized (Limon, et. al,

2020). Another similar study about the awareness and

practices on SWM among college student in Mindanao State

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University indicates the most college students are fully

aware in the identification of biodegradable from non-

biodegradable but only few of them were knowledgeable on R.A

9003. The students had good practices on solid waste

management in terms of segregation, reduce and reuse and

they had fair practices on recycling and proper disposal.

The awareness of the students had no influence to their

practices on solid waste management in terms of disposal

while the practices of the students in terms of segregation,

reduce, reuse and recycle had significant relationship of

their awareness on solid waste management (Paghasian,2017)

Practices in Solid Waste Management

In order to regulate the generated, storage,

collection, transfer and transport, processing, and disposal

of solid wastes, it is important to follow the best

practices in public health, economic, engineering,

conservation, aesthetics, and other environment

considerations. Improper solid waste management is a major

public health and environmental concern in the urban areas

of many developing countries like in Asella town, Ethiopia

(Lema, et.al,2019). According to the study of Lema and co-

researcher, 82.8 percent of their respondents had improper

solid waste management practice represents the majority of

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the resident in the said town. They’ve also stated that the

lack of adequate knowledge about solid and not having access

to door-to-door solid waste collection could have

contributed to the reported improper solid waste practice.

Article 5 of R.A 9003 also encourages the process of

composing in markets. In some households, composing is also

beneficial. The Environment Protection Agency of the United

States enumerates some of the benefits of composting:

enriches soil, helping retain moisture and suppress plant

diseases and pests: reduces the need for chemical

fertilizers; encourages the production of beneficial

bacteria and fungi that break down organic matter to create

humus, a rich nutrient-filled material; reduces methane

emissions from landfills and lowers your carbon footprint.

The EPA also stated some ways on how to compost at home like

in backyard composting: select a dry, shady spot near a

water source for your compost pile or bin; add brown and

green materials as they collected, making sure larger pieces

are chopped or shredded; moisten dry materials as they are

added; once your compost pile is established, mix grass

clipping and green waste into a pile and bury fruit and

vegetable waste under 10 inches of compost materials.

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CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research methodology of the

study. It encompasses the research design, research locale,

respondents of the study, sampling techniques and

procedures, research instrument, validity and reliability of

the instruments, data gathering procedure and appropriate

statistical tool be utilized.

Research Design

According to Stangor and Walinga (2019) descriptive

research is a research designed to discover relationships

among variables and to allow the prediction of future events

from present knowledge and involves the measurement of two

or more relevant variables and an assessment of the

relationship between or among those variables. This study

will used a descriptive research design to determine the

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level of awareness and practices of the criminology students

in solid waste management.

Subject and Respondent of the Study

The study will focus on the level of awareness and

practices and solid waste management and the respondent of

the study will be participated by officially enrolled 202

fourth year Criminology students in Criminal Justice

Department of La Carlota City College-Cubay Campus in the

Academic Year 2023-2024.

Population and Sample Size

The population of 4th year criminology students of

Bachelor of Science in Criminology of La Carlota City

College are 407. In this study the researchers will use

Slovin’s formula to determine the sample size.

N
n=
1+ N ( e ) ²

Where:

n = sample size

N= population size

e= margin of error (0.05)

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N
n=
1+ N ( e ) ²

407
n=
1+ 407(0.05)²

407
n=
1+1.02

407
n=
2.02

n=201.73

n ≈ 202

Sampling Techniques

The researchers will use stratified random sampling

technique to determine a reliable presentation of the

student sample per set. The formula below will be used:

¿ (n)
¿=
N
Where: ni = sample size per school
Ni = Population per school
N = total population
n = total sample size

Table 1 presents the data on the distribution of the

respondents.

Table 1. Distribution of Respondent per Set

Set Population Sample Size
Alpha 53 26
Bravo 44 21
Charlie 50 25
Delta 42 21
Echo 42 21
Foxtrot 43 21
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Golf 48 24
Hotel 45 22
India 40 20
N = 407 n = 202

To ensure reliability of the respondent’s selection and

avoid biases, the researchers will use the simple random

sampling in lottery method to identify the respondents from

nine set of the criminology student’s class.

Data Gathering Instrument

The researchers will use the Solid Waste Management

Awareness and Practices Questionnaire (SWMAPQ) adapted from

Gantang (2021) as a research instrument. The questionnaire

is a five-point Likert-typed questionnaire to measure the

awareness and practices of the participants in solid waste

management. Moreover, it consists of two sections. The first

section will be intended for the demographic profile of the

participants. The second section is 40-item SWM practices

statements. More so, the second section which is intended to

measure the SWM practices of the participants is further

divided into 10-item practices on segregation, 10-item

practices on waste reduction, 10-item practices on waste

recycling and reuse, and the 10-item practices on waste

disposal.
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Validity and Reliability of the Research Instrument

The questionnaire items will be face-validated to

ascertain its suitability for use in data collection by an

expert in this field. The language, contents and the

structure of the items will be critically examined and

possible corrections and suggestions will be made. The

researcher will request jurors to validate it using the

Criteria for Validating the Research Instrument by Good and

Scates.

Data Gathering Procedure

A Letter of permission to conduct survey will be sent

to the Vice President of Academic Affair. Upon approval, a

copy of which will be sent to the Dean and Department Head.

A letter will be provided to the relevant respondents

accompanied by the survey questionnaires. The distributed

questionnaires are expected to be accomplished after one (1)

week. Furthermore, the respondent’s confidentiality and

privacy will be guaranteed by the researcher.

Data Analyses

After collecting of data, the researchers will encode,

tally and analyse all the data. Different statistical tools

will be used in the analysis of data that will be collected

according to the statement of the problem:

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1. To answer the statement of the problem number 1 which

states that, what is the profile of the respondents in

terms of sex, age, parent’s educational attainment,

location of Residence and source of information,

frequency distribution will be use.

2. To answer statement of the problem number 2 which

states that, what is the level of awareness of the

criminology students in solid waste management, mean

will be used.

3. To answer statement of the problem number 3 which

states that, what is the level of practices of the

criminology students in solid waste management, mean

will be used.

4. To answer statement of the problem number 4 which

states that, is there a significant relationship

between the level of awareness and the level of

practices of the criminology student in solid waste

management, Gamma coefficient will be used.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY