Coastal Community Perspectives: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) on Marine Plastic Pollution among Coastal Residents in Tangub City, Misamis Occidental, Philippines

Marine plastic pollution has become an emerging environmental problem, particularly in tropical archipelagos like the Philippines. The study investigated the knowledge, attitude, and practices among coastal communities towards marine plastic litter in Tangub City, Misamis Occidental. The study utilized the quantitative-correlational research design. A total of 352 random respondents were selected from the 5 coastal barangays with the most household numbers in the city. Data were collected through an adapted survey questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed that majority of the respondents were women (52%), married (61%), and aged 41 to 50 years old (25%). Moreover, the educational attainment of most respondents were high school level (32%) with income below P5,000 (83%), primarily fishermen (43%) that had lived in the area for 20 years and above (62%). Overall, the respondents have a very high level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Further analysis showed that respondents' knowledge significantly differs by educational attainment while attitude also showed a significant difference across age groups. However, respondents' practices on MPL have no significant difference when grouped by socio-demographic profile. Lastly, the knowledge revealed a weak positive correlation to the attitudes and practices of the respondents. The study recommends that a comprehensive approach combining education, stricter enforcement, improved infrastructure, and active community involvement is necessary to address Tangub City's plastic waste problem effectively.