A case study of public behavioral changes towards plastic waste segregation at source in a public-private partnership program in Myanmar | |
| Author | Kyaw Shinn Thant |
| Call Number | AIT RSPR no.MPA-21-18 |
| Subject(s) | Plastics--Environmental aspects--Myanmar Plastic scrap--Myanmar Waste management |
| Note | A research study submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Marine Plastics Abatement |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Source segregation is the start of waste management chain. A proper segregation can help reducing the cross-contamination of waste along the waste chain and receiving the cleaner plastic waste at the material recovery process. This study aims to explore the feasible solutions to improve best practices of waste segregation at source and to come up with recommendation and adaptable options in Nyaung Shwe city, Inle Lake in Myanmar. The baseline study was conducted by looking at gaps along the overall waste management flow and identifying the relevant stakeholders to understand the key challenges of public behavior at a township level Public Private Partnership waste management program. Analysis of the study verified that cost of wet and dry waste bags and nature of food waste at household level were the barriers for the enabling system for the behavioral change. Lack of enforcement to eliminate the illegal backyard burning from the public sector and the lack of incentive mechanism for the residents makes it limitation for people to take apart in the action. By filling the gaps of policy and regulation, incentive and awareness, management and technical aspects, the 4 elements of the behaviour change theory can be improved for the better waste management mechanism. The adaptation of the circular economy practices in the existing system can help enhancing the people’s participation in source segregation practices. The specific output of the study were the recommendations: to initiate the incentive mechanism for the residents by providing household level composting boxes that are made out of non-tradable plastic boards in order to enhance the circularity of plastic waste, to cooperate with relevant government department to enforce the regulation and eliminate the backyard burning, to improve the data collection and record keeping for the better material recovery flow management. |
| Year | 2021 |
| Type | Research Study Project Report (RSPR) |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Marine Plastic Abatement (MPA) |
| Chairperson(s) | Visvanathan, Chettiyappan |
| Examination Committee(s) | Ekbordin Winijkul;Atitaya Panuvatvanich |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Government of Japan |
| Degree | Research studies project report (M.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2021 |