Using Factor Analysis to Understand the Influence of Individual Perception on Plastic Waste Disposal

One of the major plastic pollution problems is the understanding of the ideology underpinning their disposal. Consequently, this research aims at evaluating the factors that influence respondents’ decisions on managing their plastic waste and investigate respondents’ awareness of the health and safety issues associated with inappropriate plastic waste disposal. This research used a descriptive design. 360 individuals were randomly selected in three districts within the Cape Coast Metropolis. The data collection instrument was a structured questionnaire. The results showed that the influential factors listed according to the decreasing value of factor loading are the idea that municipal authorities’ inadequate collection of wastes, lack of education, notion that plastics are more durable than paper, the long distances of the individual to a dustbin, the lack of information on the alternatives to reduce plastic waste, the increased number of people living in the area, the high amount of plastic packaging, the lack of adequate information on proper methods to dispose of plastic waste, the attitudinal problems, the lack of infrastructure for recycling the plastic waste and the weak enforcement of existing bye-laws on sanitation. The factor loading values are 0.84, 0.82, 0.80, 0.72 ,0.71, 0.68, 0.67, 0.66, 0.64, 0.61, 0.58 respectively.