Title : Uses and disposal of plastic products: Knowledge, attitude and practice among adolescents
Abstract:
Background: Global plastic production rose from 320 million tons per year in 2016 to 400 million tons annually. Due to their lightweight, durability, and versatility, plastics are increasingly used in daily life from household items to medical tools, etc. Unfortunately, nearly half of all plastic waste ends up in landfills and dumped into oceans, rivers, and lakes daily across the world. It harms marine life and releases toxins, pollutes soil, water, and plants causing environmental and health issues. Healthcare workers, especially school nurse, play major role in behavior change among community people through adolescents. The study aims to assess knowledge, attitude and practice of uses and disposal of plastic products among adolescents.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional school-based study at two public schools of Morang which were selected as per the convenience of the researcher. The study was conducted among adolescents studying in grade 9 & 10 from September to November, 2025. All the students present in the class on the day of data collection were enrolled as participants. Self-developed questionnaire consisting of four parts was used to collect data through self-administered method. Data was collected on separate days in each school and was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science 20.0 version. Descriptive statistics as frequency, mean, median and standard deviation was used.
Results: Out of total 445 adolescents, 263 were enrolled as participants and the majority of them (74.9%) were of age group 13-16 years and 49.0% were male. More than 70% were aware of the harmful effects of plastic on health and environment, however, one-fourth of them had misconceptions that plastic is biodegradable and plastic wastes is managed by burning. Only 9.1% were aware that plastic wastes may take 1000 years to degrade. Similarly, only 30.2% had good knowledge, 52.5% had positive attitude, and 47.5% had good practices.
Conclusions: Although only one-third of the adolescents had good knowledge, about half of them showed positive attitude and good practice on uses and disposal of plastic products. Burning was the most common disposal method reported to be practiced at their homes. Plastic waste management has become the global issue and it is the high time to opt for alternative products to plastics. Thus the study highlights the need for targeted awareness and practical waste management solutions at the community level.
Key Words: Adolescents, Attitude, Knowledge, Plastic products, Practice.
