An Assessment of Attitude and Behaviour Towards Littering Among the Citizens of Nairobi City

Abstract

Littering is considered an important environmental problem. This problem is growing steadily and is attracting great concerns amongst the public, scholars and government institutions. Studies done have continually shown that littering is a result of an attitudinal and behavioural problems in human beings and as such, it is seen as a human impact on the environment and on the society; a personal choice with public consequences. With Kenya grappling with poor waste management, litter as an important aspect of waste management, has been largely ignored. The solution by the Government of Kenya has been to increase manpower, trucks and street cleaning equipment. However, these solutions have not been effective as they lack community participation. Furthermore, they do not focus nor seek to understand citizens‟ attitude and behaviour towards littering. The purpose of this project, which focuses on Nairobi City, was guided by three main objectives: (1) to describe the nature and extent of littering in Nairobi City; (2) to determine Nairobi City residents‟ attitude and behaviour towards littering; and (3) to assess the impact of littering in Nairobi City. The study findings are largely based on a survey households sampled from Karen and Mukuru in Nairobi. The hypothesis was tested using the independent sample t-test. The research findings revealed that people and keeping trash by the roadside are the major sources of litter in Nairobi. The study also revealed that the residents had a positive attitude and a negative behaviour towards littering hence they litter rampantly. The study recommends provision of more litter bins and creation of awareness through civic education which should target all citizens of all ages, gender, education level or socio-economic status.