World Without Waste: Determining Plastic Reduction Practices of Older Children and Adolescent Students

Abstract

People are more inclined towards purchasing various products made of plastic because of its favorable characteristics. The Philippines, which consisted of public places such as malls, schools, and workplaces, generates 2.7 million tonnes of plastic waste and 20% or half a million tonnes annually (Vila, 2019). Because of this, the researchers aim to understand the different practices of older children and adolescents within the school community through conducting this study. This is a quantitative research study wherein it used a cross-sectional research design. Moreover, it also used predictive research design to forecast the outcome and results. The study was conducted at St. Mary's College, Quezon City. The participants were from Grades 4 to 6 for older children and Grades 7 to 12 for adolescents, in which proportionate stratified random sampling was employed. To gather data, the researchers conducted a survey, then later on encoded to MS Excel and used statistical tests for more comprehensive analysis of the results. The mean ratings on the different practices of older children and adolescents towards plastic waste reduction showed that the majority of the respondents always perform the different practices, and a minority of them have never done the practices to reduce plastic wastes. The results revealed that there is no significant difference between the practices performed by older children and adolescents concerning the plastic waste reduction. The results founded on t-test were interpreted and evidently have shown that the null hypothesis is accepted and the alternative hypothesis is rejected. The researchers found out through t-test that there is no significant difference between older children and adolescents in terms of their practices towards plastic waste reduction. However, the findings of this study can be beneficial to different establishments, especially schools, and can also contribute to the betterment of the community since it aims to understand the practices of people within their area. Lastly, the researchers recommend adding other perspectives such as the attitudes and behaviours on the different practices of plastic waste reduction.