KNOWLEDGE REGARDING ADVERSE EFFECTS OF PLASTIC BAGS USAGE AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG CONSUMERS IN BAUCHI METROPOLIS, NIGERIA

Background: Billions of plastic bags are used annually across the globe, leading to wider environmental and health concerns. This study evaluates the knowledge regarding adverse effects of plastic bags usage and its associated factors among consumers in three major markets of Bauchi Metropolis, Bauchi State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: The study covers 300 consumers, who were randomly sampled and interviewed face-to-face using pretested structured questionnaire from October to December 2018. The cross-sectional approach was employed in the study. Result: The findings revealed that slightly more than half of the surveyed consumers have good knowledge (59.3%); however, the narrow gap between the consumers with good and poor knowledge indicates the need for improvement. Only two factors including age and income were found to be associated with consumers’ knowledge regarding adverse effects of plastic bag usage in this study. Conclusion: Based on this therefore, the study suggests that the relevant stakeholders should support programmes that may raise consumers’ knowledge regarding adverse effects of plastic bags usage. This should be done while taking into cognisance the factors found to be associated with knowledge regarding adverse effects of plastic bag usage among the surveyed consumers. The findings from this study will serve as input to the potential policies on regulating plastic bags usage particularly in Bauchi and other similar cities of developing countries. Keywords: Plastic bags, Adverse effects, Knowledge, Consumers, Nigeria