Tourist knowledge, attitude, and practice of single-use plastics and their impact on health at selected area in Melaka

Romzie, Nurul Afiqah (2024) Tourist knowledge, attitude, and practice of single-use plastics and their impact on health at selected area in Melaka. [Project Paper] (Submitted)

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Abstract

Introduction: Malaysia is a country with many attractions for discerning travellers, including its stunning islands, beaches, charming cities, historical monuments, and adventure destinations, especially Melaka. Every year, billions of people go on holiday to get away from the stress of their daily life. Surprisingly, they risk finding tourist attraction areas adorned not by vibrant species of flowers and decorations, but by food packaging, single-use bottles, plastic bags and plastic straws. Objectives: This study was aimed to evaluate knowledge, attitude, and practice of single-use plastics and their impact on health among tourist in Melaka. Methodology: Survey was conducted among 176 respondents from four tourist attraction areas in Melaka. Information on the sociodemographic characteristics, single-use plastic (SUP) waste knowledge, attitude, practice (KAP) and knowledge on health risks of the tourist were collected using modified and self-administered questionnaire. The volume of SUP waste (types and weights) was sampled from 4 tourist attraction areas (1 week for each area) in this study. Results and Discussion: This study recorded a total of 6.36 kg of SUP waste in a week collected from 4 tourist attraction area; Dutch Square (0.86 kg), Klebang Beach (3.44 kg), Jonker Street (0.94 kg), Malacca River Cruise (1.12 kg). The average volume of SUP’s is between 0.12 kg/day to 0.49 kg/day. The major SUP waste being collected was plastic bottle (50.0%), followed by plastic cup (27.1%), food packaging (14.5%) and others such as bubble wrap, cigarette buds, polystyrene, dental floss and cotton buds (8.4%). The tourist have high knowledge level (55.7%), moderate attitude level (65.9%), moderate practice level (70.5%) and good knowledge level on health risks (43.7%) related to SUP waste. There was significant association between knowledge with age, race/ethnicity, education level and household income. The attitude, practice and knowledge level on health risks were not significantly associated with any sociodemographic characteristics. There was no significant association between KAP. Conclusion: The amount of SUP waste collected at beach areas was reported the highest compared to other tourist attraction areas. Having high level of knowledge did not ensure that the individuals would likewise have high level of attitude and practice. Even though the individuals may possess high level of knowledge, but their lack of motivation and discipline, hindered them from applying their knowledge into real-world practice. Reflecting on the study, it is recommended that the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) can work hand in hand with the Department of Environment and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) to organise and regularly implement SUP waste control activities focusing on reducing action and expanding awareness of plastic pollution to ensure lifetime action and effective methods in reducing SUP waste and at the same time encouraging the tourist to utilise alternative products during their travel. Keywords: Single-Use Plastic (SUP), Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, Tourist

Item Type:	Project Paper
Faculty:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Science
Depositing User:	Ms Norafizah Radzuan
Date Deposited:	29 Apr 2025 06:16
Last Modified:	29 Apr 2025 06:16
URI:	http://psaspb.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/2381

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