Usage of Plastic Bags and Health Hazards: A Study to Assess Awareness Level and Perception about Legislation Among a Small Population of Mangalore City

Abstract

Most of the participants in the settings had the awareness of hazards of plastic bag usage. However, there is a need for spreading the awareness of using alternative strategies and effective implementation of legislation in order to minimize the usage of plastics in the community.

Knowledge Regarding Adverse Effects of Plastic Bags Usage and Its Associated Factors Among Consumers in Bauchi Metropolis, Nigeria

“…The study reported good knowledge among the surveyed students. Similarly, Joseph et. al., (2016) in their study conducted to evaluate awareness level and perception on plastic bags usage and health hazards among small population of Mangalore City.…”

Awareness, acceptance and practice of plastic ban legislation among residents of an urban area in Kanchipuram district, Tamil Nadu: a cross sectional study

“…Majority (80%) of the subjects were familiar about at least one health hazard generated due to use of plastic which was similar when compared to a study done in Mangalore where 86% of the respondents knew about health threats as a result of using plastics. 11 These results are better when compared to different studies conducted in other parts of the world where only 50% to 70% of the respondents knew about the harmful health hazards on using plastic. [15][16][17][18] In this study nearly 78% were familiar of the ill effects of plastic over the environment which was less when compared to a study done in California were 93% of the respondents had adequate knowledge on the harmful effects of plastic use over environment.…”

“…The sample size was calculated based on the prevalence of awareness of plastic ban legislation from a study done by Joseph et al, in the year 2013 in Mangalore which showed that 85% of the population were aware of the plastic ban legislation. 11 Using the formula 4pq/d 2 , with the allowable error of 5%, the sample size was calculated to be 204. Adding 10% non-response rate, the sample size was calculated to be 224, which were rounded off to 250.…”

“…In this study, 6% of the participants were unaware of the plastic ban legislation, which is much lesser when compared to a study conducted by Joseph et al, in Mangalore, where nearly 15% of the respondents were ignorant about the law that was passed towards banning use of plastics. 11 A study conducted in Mangalore states that the shop keepers continued supplying plastic bags to customers without questioning for an alternative bag. 11 Similar observations were made in a study conducted in Delhi where certain shops continued to provide plastic bags despite the legislation passed towards the banning of plastics.…”

“…11 A study conducted in Mangalore states that the shop keepers continued supplying plastic bags to customers without questioning for an alternative bag. 11 Similar observations were made in a study conducted in Delhi where certain shops continued to provide plastic bags despite the legislation passed towards the banning of plastics. 13 This highlights about the effective coverage of law enforcement in our study area.…”