An Approach to Litter Generation and Littering Practices in a Mexico City Neighborhood
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- 1. To quantify recyclable urban solid waste (RMSW) in streets of the Jardín Balbuena neighborhood.
- 2. To identify littering practices and the knowledge and perception of residents of this neighborhood with regard to the generation and impact of recyclable urban solid waste in streets (RMSWS).
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. RMSWS Counting Procedure
2.2. RMSWS Survey Procedure
2.3. Statistics
3. Results
3.1. Profile of the Study Population
General population a | Interviewees | |
---|---|---|
Characteristics | Number of individuals (%) | Number of individuals (%) |
Gender | ||
Males | 10,901(44.6) | 309 (49) |
Females | 13,581 (55.4) | 325 (51) |
Age (years) | ||
0-12 | 3,541 (14.4) | 64 (10) |
13-20 | 2,877 (11.7) | 108 (17) |
21-30 | 6,221 (25.3) | 151 (24) |
31-40 | 5,164 (21.0) | 140 (22) |
41-50 | 2,287 (9.3) | 85 (13) |
51-60 | 257 (1) | 31 (5) |
>61 | 4,243 (17.3) | 55 (9) |
Education | ||
None | 224 (1.3) | 7(1) |
Elementary | 1851 (10.4) | 80 (13) |
Middle school | 2573 (14.6) | 64 (10) |
High school | 5776 (32.8) | 151 (24) |
College or university | 7203 (40.9) | 255 (40) |
Graduate studies | - | 77 (12) |
Income | ||
None | 1167 (10.2) | 105 (17) |
< 1 mmwpw * | 550 (4.8) | 39 (6) |
1 to 2 mmwpw * | 1665 (14.5) | 76 (12) |
2 to 5 mmwpw * | 4312 (37.5) | 106 (17) |
> 5 mmwpw * | 3793 (33.0) | 308 (48) |
3.2. Littering Practices and Public Perception of RMSW Generation in Streets
3.2.1. Jardín Balbuena Residents
Considerations | Number of respondents (%) a |
---|---|
RMSWS is a problem | 634 (100) |
RMSWS is harmful to | |
Human health | 575 (20.9) |
Soil | 439 (16.0) |
Air | 434 (15.8) |
Water | 431 (15.7) |
Vegetation | 353 (12.9) |
Urban landscape | 327 (11.9) |
Municipal finances | 186 (6.8) |
3.2.2. Littering Practices and Public Perception of RMSW Generation in Jardín Balbuena Streets
Frequency of RMSWS generation | Number of respondents (%) a,b |
---|---|
Always | 23 (3.6) |
Often | 33 (5.2) |
Sometimes | 304 (47.9) |
Never | 274 (43.2) |
a Type of RMSWS generated | |
Food-related | 98 (19.8) |
Beverage-related | 54 (10.9) |
Both food and beverage-related | 216 (43.5) |
Cigarette butts | 104 (21.0) |
Others | 24 (4.8) |
Perception of RMSWS generation | Number of respondents (%)a,b |
---|---|
Reason for RMSWS production a | |
Laziness | 496 (31.8) |
No vigilance | 360 (23.1) |
No litter bins | 289 (18.5) |
Imitation | 214 (13.7) |
Ignorance | 106 (6.8) |
Irresponsibility | 47 (3.0) |
Done without being aware | 29 (1.9) |
Paying for waste removal through taxes | 17 (1.1) |
Days of higher production of RMSWS a | |
Monday | 156 (19.1) |
Tuesday | 59 (7.2) |
Wednesday | 65 (7.9) |
Thursday | 69 (8.4) |
Friday | 112 (13.7) |
Saturday | 186 (22.7) |
Sunday | 171 (20.9) |
Efficiency of the street cleaning service b | |
Good | 100 (33.1) |
Average | 165 (54.6) |
Bad | 37 (12.3) |
Commercial brands a | |
Coca-Cola (FEMSA) | 214 (33.0) |
Sabritas (PepsiCo) | 198 (30.6) |
Bimbo (Bimbo Group) | 109 (16.8) |
Holanda (Unilever) | 67 (10.3) |
Barcel (Bimbo Group) | 60 (9.3) |
Gender of other generators a | |
Male | 277 (71.4) |
Female | 111 (28.6) |
Age of other generators (years) a | |
<10 | 106 (12.3) |
11–20 | 190 (22.0)1 |
21–30 | 175 (20.2) |
31–40 | 146 (16.9) |
41–50 | 87 (10.1) |
51–60 | 83 (9.6) |
>61 | 78 (9.0) |
Educational level of other generators a | |
None | 117 (13.3) |
Elementary | 176 (19.9) |
Middle school | 178 (20.2) |
High school | 200 (22.7) |
College or university | 128 (14.5) |
Graduate studies | 84 (9.5) |
Socioeconomic level of other generators a | |
Low | 154 (30.1) |
Middle | 231 (45.2) |
High | 126 (24.7) |
3.3. Total Waste in Streets of the Jardín Balbuena Neighborhood (December 2010–February 2011)
3.4.Relations between Item Counts and Littering Practices and Perception of RMSW
Factors | Item counts | Respondents | |
---|---|---|---|
Day of the week | |||
Monday | 2011 | 156 | p = 0.001 a |
Tuesday | 1924 | 59 | p = 0.001 a |
Wednesday | 2112 | 65 | p = 0.001 a |
Thursday | 2112 | 69 | p = 0.001 a |
Friday | 1895 | 112 | p = 0.663 |
Saturday | 2257 | 186 | p = 0.001 a |
Sunday | 2156 | 171 | p = 0.001 a |
Commercial brands | |||
Sabritas wrappers | 4485 (31) | 198 (31) | p = 0.844 |
Bimbo wrappers | 2893 (20) | 109 (17) | p = 0.053 |
Coca-Cola plastic bottles | 2170 (15) | 214 (33) | p = 0.001 a |
Gender of generators | |||
Males | 29 | 277 | p = 0.001 a |
Females | 7 | 111 | p = 0.770 |
Age of generators | |||
<10 | 10 | 106 | p = 0.001a |
11–20 | 6 | 190 | p = 0.583 |
21–30 | 5 | 175 | p = 0.472 |
31–40 | 5 | 146 | p = 0.808 |
41–50 | 3 | 87 | p = 0.957 |
51–60 | 5 | 83 | p = 0.573 |
>60 | 2 | 78 | p = 0.677 |
4. Discussion
4.1. Profile of the Study Population
4.2. Littering Practices and Public Perception of RMSW Generation in Streets
4.2.1. Jardín Balbuena Residents
4.2.2. Littering Practices and Public Perception
4.3. Total Waste Items in Streets of the Jardín Balbuena Neighborhood
4.4. Relationship of Littering Practices and Public Perception of Actual RMSW Generation in Streets
5. Conclusions and Recommendations
- • Adopt a green area. This program promotes the adoption by individuals or private enterprises of a particular green area space for purposes of care and maintenance, as provided by the regulations in force and in coordination with municipal authorities. Depending on the area adopted, the corresponding individuals or private enterprises are allowed to put up a small sign with the company logo and name.
- • Environmental improvement of urban public spaces. This involves summoning specialists from among the general public to submit projects for the environmental improvement and recovery of public spaces and streets, under sustainability criteria based on attitude and behavioral studies of the users of such places.
- • Awareness programs in schools. Schools are basic places for carrying out activities of environmental education in relation to adequate solid waste management, which can be enhanced with the information obtained in the present study, thus ensuring a multiplier effect reaching into the family home.
- • Ongoing training of personnel taking part in sanitation actions by the Mexico City government.
Acknowledgments
Conflict of Interest
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Muñoz-Cadena, C.E.; Lina-Manjarrez, P.; Estrada-Izquierdo, I.; Ramón-Gallegos, E. An Approach to Litter Generation and Littering Practices in a Mexico City Neighborhood. Sustainability 2012, 4, 1733-1754. https://doi.org/10.3390/su4081733
Muñoz-Cadena CE, Lina-Manjarrez P, Estrada-Izquierdo I, Ramón-Gallegos E. An Approach to Litter Generation and Littering Practices in a Mexico City Neighborhood. Sustainability. 2012; 4(8):1733-1754. https://doi.org/10.3390/su4081733
Chicago/Turabian StyleMuñoz-Cadena, Cecilia E., Pedro Lina-Manjarrez, Irma Estrada-Izquierdo, and Eva Ramón-Gallegos. 2012. "An Approach to Litter Generation and Littering Practices in a Mexico City Neighborhood" Sustainability 4, no. 8: 1733-1754. https://doi.org/10.3390/su4081733
APA StyleMuñoz-Cadena, C. E., Lina-Manjarrez, P., Estrada-Izquierdo, I., & Ramón-Gallegos, E. (2012). An Approach to Litter Generation and Littering Practices in a Mexico City Neighborhood. Sustainability, 4(8), 1733-1754. https://doi.org/10.3390/su4081733