Perception of Plastic Waste Management Policy and Plastic Waste Management Behaviors of Traders in Charoensri Market, Warin Chamrap District, Ubon Ratchathani Province

Abstract

This cross-sectional descriptive research aimed to study the perception of plastic waste management policy and waste management behavior of traders in Charoensri Market, Warinchamrap District, Ubon Ratchathani province. The types of packaging used in the market were also examined including the relationship between plastic waste management policy perceptions with plastic waste management behavior of traders. Data were collected by using questionnaires with 342 traders in the Charoensri market randomly selected according to the types of traders’ panel. The data were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. The correlations between variables were obtained using Fisher's exact test statistics at 0.05 significant level.

The study found that the perceived plastic waste management policy was at a moderate level (51.5%), with the percentages of awareness on the policy on the elimination of microbead plastics, oxo-containing plastics, and plastics covering drinking water bottles at 45.6%, 45.0%, and 39.8%, respectively. Plastic waste management behaviors were at a moderate level (47.3%), with little practice in promoting discounts or encouraging consumers to bring their food containers instead of foam boxes, plastic bags, and plastic glasses (single use), accounting for 52.9%. Food containers used for distribution are carried bags (100%). There were still 0.6% of the samples who used oxo-based plastics, which had already been announced for discontinuing of use since 2019. The perception of plastic waste management policy was significantly related to the plastic waste management behaviors among traders at 0.05 significance level (p<0.001). Therefore, the relevant authorities should provide traders with an understanding of plastic waste management policies to eliminate single-use plastics by adopting environmentally friendly packaging instead.