A survey and partial dependency analysis to assess residential solid waste recycling awareness in Saudi Arabia

Rapid industrialization, rise in population, and urbanization have led to severe environmental degradation and health concerns for inhabitants due to regular household waste (RHW). Implementing sustainable waste management practices, such as regular household waste recycling, is an imminent need in Saudi Arabia and other nations. Yet, the analysis of the awareness regarding RHW recycling and its influencing elements in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has rarely been conducted. Efficient management of home waste is currently a major concern, particularly in economically developing countries, as inappropriate disposal of waste results in financial losses and detrimental effects on the environment and public health. The objective of this study is to assess the level of awareness among Saudi households on RHW, the environmental issues associated with improper waste disposal, and their readiness to participate in the recycling of RHW. Therefore, we conducted a two-stage analytic investigation that included a total of 909 households from different areas of Saudi Arabia. In addition to the analysis of questionnaire responses, partial dependency (PDP) analysis was also conducted using two supervised machine learning algorithms, Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) and Decision Tree (DT), to evaluate how sociodemographic factors influence waste recycling awareness. Based on the study results, most respondents are knowledgeable and worried about the adverse environmental effects of solid waste. Most respondents are motivated to support a large-scale recycling program, provided enough facilities are available. Also, the PDP analysis revealed that sociodemographic factors such as age, gender, salary, and marital status also significantly impact the awareness of waste recycling. Finally, considering the rising amount of waste produced by the Saudi population, the authorities must implement a recycling program to address this harmful waste and promote the development of a sustainable world.