The Use of WhatsApp for Effective Delivery of Zero Waste Literacy

Abstract

Recently, zero waste management was broadly promoted as the way in cultivating urban solid waste management. Community participation was considered as a key to the success of the concept in practice. This study aimed in exploring the community participation in developing zero-waste city, through promoting zero-waste lifestyles. In collaborating with the NGO, local government supported the program on facilitators training that assisted community on waste handling. Consequently, facilitators as peer education in fostering behavior changed on waste handling, thus communication and collaboration among facilitators encouraged them in developing various inventive programs in raising waste handling literacy, awareness, and participation in the program. The facilitators used the WhatsApp group as a channel of communication and information sharing because the application enables wider space to share the idea of creation in raising community awareness of waste handling. Focusing to answer the research question of how the WhatsApp group supported the effectiveness of zero waste literacy among facilitators in the project area of zero waste place, this study used netnography to explore the answer. Conversation analysis conducted to complete the netnograpic in figuring out the social relations among facilitators. The result showed that the members of the group could be both a speaker and a receiver at the same time. The member of the discussion could respond to the various topic simultaneously also without a missing point of the conversation. Accordingly, this unique characteristic could be concluded as an effective channel in delivering the message of zero waste literacy among group members.