Abstract:
There have been few studies that have documented waste management issues in Sri
Lankan educational institutions, particularly student perspectives. This study assessed
the students’ awareness of solid waste and their current solid waste management
practices. It is majorly identified the challenges of maintaining effective solid waste
management practices and analyzed the students’ preference to maintain
recommended solid waste management system. Grade 10 students (N=100) from
Uyangoda Maha Vidyalaya, Kamburupitiya in educational zone of Mulatiyana Hakmana were selected as the population and 35 students were randomly selected
as the sample. The sample was surveyed using a structured questionnaire in January
2022. Mainly descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. As per the results,
considering the students’ level of awareness regarding solid waste, the majority of
students (42.8%) were aware of solid waste management while 22.8% had a full
awareness. Lack of interest is the main challenge for the majority of students (40%) to
maintain effective solid waste management practices. 25.7% of the respondents
stated that lack of guidance was a challenge for solid waste management while 20%
of them indicated that lack of knowledge was the main challenge. Moreover, 14.3% of
the school children mentioned that inadequate space has become a major challenge
for sustainable solid waste management practices. School children mainly suggested
implementing recycling system and proper waste management system as means to
manage solid waste. This exploratory study is of great significance for in depth further
studies for implementing public investment decisions to improve the quality of solid
waste management systems in Sri Lanka and to increase students’ awareness of waste
management issues and practices.
