Abstract

Background: Waste is generally known as unwanted or unusual materials. Municipal solid waste handling and disposal is a growing environmental and public health concern in a developing country.

Objective: This study was designed to assess the association of knowledge on waste handling and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) among waste handlers.

Materials and Methods: The populations of the study were the waste handlers of Rupandehi district. A total of 138 samples were taken using nonprobability purposive sampling technique. Data were collected using pretested semi-structured questionnaires. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistical method such as frequency and percentage in SPSS version 16; Chi-square test was applied to see association.

Results: The mean age of the respondent was 34.63 ± 9.03 years and most (93.5%) of them were male. Majority of them (91.3%) had the knowledge to use mask, whereas 89.9% of them used mask while handling the waste. About two-third (63.8%) of the respondents answered the cause of the disease is poor hygiene and sanitation. In bivariate analysis, age, sex, and training are statistically significant with the knowledge on waste handling and use of PPE.

Conclusion: Most of the waste handlers had good knowledge of waste handling. Majority of the waste handlers were using mask as a PPE. The practice of waste handling was good among the respondents who had received training on waste handling. Training can be a milestone to reduce serious health problem using their knowledge into practice.

Key words: Knowledge; Practice; Preventive Measures; Waste Handlers; Training