RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMMUNITY AWARENESS AND PARTICIPATION IN WASTE MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF BANG RAK NOI SUB-DISTRICT COMMUNITY, MUEANG DISTRICT, NONTHABURI PROVINCE

Abstract

This research aims to 1) study the level of awareness and participation of the community in waste management in the Bang Rak Noi sub-district, Mueang district, Nonthaburi province, 2) examine the relationship between awareness and community participation in waste management in the same area, and 3) propose guidelines for developing awareness and community participation in managing household waste in the community. The research is quantitative in nature, using a survey tool. The population consists of residents in the community under the jurisdiction of the Bang Rak Noi sub-district administration, totaling 30,785 people, with a sample size of 395 individuals. The research findings indicate a statistically significant positive correlation (r = 0.714, p < 0.01) between awareness and participation factors overall. In every aspect, awareness factors are positively correlated with participation factors at a statistically significant level of 0.01. Specifically, the strongest correlation is found between community awareness and community participation in waste management (r = 0.742, p < 0.01). The next highest correlation is between community awareness and support for community waste management projects (r = 0.668, p < 0.01). The least correlated aspects are household waste separation and the evaluation of community waste management projects (r = 0.345, p < 0.01).

Keywords: awareness, participation, waste management, environmental management