Assessment of knowledge and practice on plastics among the professional course students of Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Background: The use of plastics made life easy in day to day life. However, the disposal of it remains a public health problem worldwide. Plastic waste are major cause of environment pollution becomes carcinogenic to human, birth defects, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption, development and reproductive effect. Raising the awareness of the different stake holders is suggested by United Nations Environment Programme. Assessing the knowledge and practice of the student community, especially of the professional courses, in this regard is considered as a vital one.Methods: A total of 563 students of professional courses were included in the study. Their knowledge in terms general aspects, ill effects, reuse and practice in terms of usage and disposal were assessed with a questionnaire.Results: 46% of the students found having good knowledge. Only 27.6% were found to have good practice. Though the students have good knowledge on ill effects of plastics, their practice in terms of disposal was less. Significant variations were observed among the students of different courses.Conclusions: Addressing the gap between knowledge and practice in terms of designing messages for proper disposal and avoiding usage of single use plastics at individual and collective level is required.