Abstract:
The impact of waste and improper waste management practices has
significantly increased as a result of changes in people’s lifestyles. Therefore,
improper waste disposal practices directly affect to arise many environmental,
health and socio-economic problems. Based on that current study seeks to
identify impacts and effectiveness of waste management practices, student’s
attitudes on waste management in Rajarata University of Sri Lanka Mihintale.
Required data were collected from primary and secondary sources. Relevant
secondary data were collected through various selected sources such as
websites, reports, etc. Primary data were collected from questionnaires,
interviews and field surveys. The simple random sample was used to select
100 students from the Faculty of Social Sciences, Management Studies and
Applied Sciences in university premises. Findings of the study identified
Plastic, Polythene, Paper waste, Food waste, and Wastewater are the major
waste disposes of the university. These wastes are generating not only on the
university premises but also from the university hostels. Further, lack of
proper waste management practices, attitudinal changes of students, improper
waste disposal methods and over usage of non-biodegradable waste were
reported as some other major reasons for increasing waste problems. 35% of
students state that attitudinal changes are the major reason for increasing waste
problems. Accordingly, irregular waste management practices lead to decline
scenic beauty in the university, as well as pollute the environment, emission
of greenhouse gasses and potential to increase vector-borne diseases. Most of
the students have moderately low awareness of waste management practices
in university. Although there is a composting plant on university premises, it
is not functioning properly. Therefore, findings of the study suggest that
enhance proper waste management practices in the university be used as an
effective measure to reduce waste impacts.
