SOURCE:

Faculty: Management Sciences
Department: Marketing

CONTRIBUTORS:

Nwankwo, C.
Nkamnebe, A. D.

ABSTRACT:

This study was on environmental literacy and waste disposal behaviour of university undergraduates in Enugu State, Nigeria. Fundamentally, environmental literacy refers to an understanding and interactions of human beings and their natural environment with regard to both living and non-living things. The main objective of this study was to investigate environmental literacy and waste disposal behaviour of university undergraduates in Enugu State, Nigeria. To achieve this, the study hypothesized that despite the intensifying environmental education efforts and the spread of environmental literacy concept, there is still a growing discourse in literature on whether and how environmental literacy influences waste disposal behaviour of university undergraduates in Enugu State, Nigeria. This study used survey research design and was based on a statistically determined sample of 400 respondents. Of this number, 368 copies of questionnaire representing 92% response rate were returned as duly filled and usable. Questionnaire was the major instrument for primary data collection. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to check reliability analysis with respect to internal consistency. Tables and percentages were used to answer the research questions while structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses at .05 margin of error. Statistical package for social science SPSS version 23.0 software was used for analysis. Results showed that there was no positive relationship between environmental knowledge and waste disposal behaviour of university undergraduates with a p-value .060 > .05 margin of error. There was a positive relationship between locus of control with a p-value .000 < .05 margin of error. Similarly, there was also a positive relationship between environmental curiosity and waste disposal behaviour of university undergraduates with a p-value .000 < .05 margin of error. This study concluded that in order to balance human demand upon the earth’s natural resources sustainably, students who are environmentally knowledgeable, with locus of control, curious about the environment, concerned about the environment and sensitive to the environment are needed to manage the impact of human excesses on the environment. This study recommended among others that since there was no positive relationship between environmental knowledge and waste disposal behaviour of students, that the environmental programmes be integrated into the academic curriculum for university undergraduates to enable them to fully appreciate these environmental issues in other to stimulate action among them.