Attitude of Romanian students and their families concerning waste management

Abstract Waste recovery, recycling included, is an important step in waste management, preceding final disposal. In 2018, according to Eurostat, the recycling rate of municipal waste was 47% in the European Union and only 11.1% in Romania. Thus governmental institutions have implemented new measures in order to reduce environmental pollution by ineffective waste management. In 2022, 535 students aged 22-24.5 years, males and females, studying in Craiova (one of the six largest academic cities of Romania), were asked to answer an 18-item questionnaire regarding their and their families’ attitude towards waste recycling. Most of the students (60.7%) were residents in the university city, while the others - in smaller cities or in villages of the region. Only 38.3% of the subjects (N = 205) declare their families recycle waste; the most common excuse for no-recycling (37.8%) is the lack of recycle bins in the house proximity. Only 20 families (3.7%), all of them living in Craiova, take the fried oil to collecting points in supermarkets; most of the others eliminate it in the sewerage system, especially those from outside the city (p < 0.01). Seventy-five students (14%) are not able to mention any recent measure taken by the government in order to reduce plastics environmental pollution; the others discuss about the increased number of recycle bins around the city (53.2%), recycling of single-use plastics (34.5%) or use of biodegradable bags (25.2%). No-recycling (42%), using daily his/her own car (18.7%, p < 0.01 males vs. females), using too much plastics (11.2%) are the most frequent self-reported students’ disregards for the environment. Most of the subjects consider environmental health of essential importance (88.7%) and would like to participate in environment protection actions (92.5%). Romanian students seem to have a positive attitude and like to be involved in the environment protection, without a significant influence regarding the gender and the residence place. Key messages • Education and information are essential tools to make people ecologically aware. • Recycling is one of the best ways to have a positive impact on both natural and community environment.