Abstract:
The objectives of this research were to 1) study the knowledge, awareness and behavior concerning solid waste management in Wat Klang community, Bangkapi district, Bangkok Metropolis, 2) study the relationship between the knowledge, the awareness and the behavior concerning solid waste management in the community, 3) compare the knowledge, awareness and solid waste management behavior of the people in Wat Klang community, and 4) study the development of solid waste management as it moves towards sustainability. The study was a survey type research. The population was the 1,360 household representatives living in Wat Klang community, Moo 2 Ladprao 132, Lat Phrao Road, Klongjan, Bangkapi, Bangkok. A sample of 300 participants was selected using systematic sampling according to Krejcie & Morgan's table, at the confidence level of 95 %. The data was collected using a knowledge test with a difficulty value of 0.60-0.75, a discriminant power of 0.52-0.88 and a reliability of 0.85, as well as awareness and behavior questionnaires with reliabilities of 0.80 and 0.82, respectively. The questions used in the group discussions had an IOC of 0.60-1.00. The data were analyzed by percentage, mean, standard deviation and reference statistics including Pearson's correlation analysis, t-test, F-test, and content analysis. The research results revealed that: 1) The results of the study on waste management in the community showed that most of the participants had high levels of both knowledge and awareness and that their behavior was also at a high level. 2) The study of the relationship between the knowledge, the awareness and the behavior of the people as they concerned solid waste management showed positive correlations which were statistically significant at the 0.05 level, with the highest correlation being between awareness and behavior (r = 0.799). The correlation between knowledge and behavior followed (r = 0.426). Whereas knowledge and awareness had the lowest correlation (r = 0.207). 3) Comparison of the knowledge, awareness and behavior concerning solid waste management of the people revealed that the factors marital status, age, average income, and length of stay in the community all produced significant differences at the 0.05 level. 4) The proposed approaches for the development of solid waste management in the community center suggest that relevant agencies should organize activities to improve knowledge, awareness and behavior concerning the management of solid waste by focusing on the separation of waste at the source. A waste bank should be established in the community to process the waste and provide adequate waste management equipment and tools by adding, garbage bins, sorting capability and increase the frequency of garbage collection.