Household Waste Management through a Participatory Process, Ban Nongku Community, Nasinuan Sub-District, Kantharawichai District, Maha Sarakham Province

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a model to promote community participation for household waste management. It was conducted at Ban Nongku Community, Nasinuan Sub-District, Kantharawichai District, Maha Sarakham Province, by comparing the performance and par-ticipation among households in the community before and after the model implementation. Sixty eight heads of household were randomly recruited to participate the study. The model was comprised of 3 steps, (1) apprciation - A, (2) influence - I, and (3) control - C. Implementation process took 8 weeks from during July to September 2014. Data were collected by using questionnaire with a reliability of 0.89; and were analyzed by percentage, standard deviation, and the paired t-test set at statistical significance of 0.05. It was found that after participating the activities, the performance and the participation of the samples in managing the household waste in total has significantly increased (p<0.05). Participatory measures for waste reduction included the formation of bio-fertilizer club, setting-up of microbial fund to produce fertilizer, sorting of household waste, self production of bio-compost, and the implementing a Nongku project on add value to the waste. The model was able to create community participation and raise awareness on the waste problems as well as jointly identify the measures to solve them through mutual cooperation and sustainable approach. The model should be widely applied in other areas with similar socio-environmental context.