Linking waste management practices and climate change perception in Ghana: Empirical insight from Moshie Zongo

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 120%; mso-pagination: none; layout-grid-mode: char; mso-layout-grid-align: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; margin: 12.0pt 0cm 6.0pt 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 宋体;">The issue of climate change cannot be overemphasized considering its negative repercussions on individuals, households, the environment, and nations at large. This necessitates urgent action, as highlighted by sustainable development goal (SDG) 13, which emphasizes how urgent it is to combat climate change and its effects. Innovative waste management is crucial as it helps reduce negative impacts of climate change while supporting social and economic sustainability. This paper contributes to climate change discourse by exploring the association between waste management practices and climate change perceptions. Specifically, this paper has four objectives: (1) examine the current waste management practices currently adopted by residents, (2) determine whether there is an association between waste management practices and climate change perceptions, (3) explore waste management practices that could help mitigate climate change-related challenges, and (4) investigate the current waste-sorting activities within the community. A structured questionnaire is utilized for the data collection. Pearson’s Chi-square test is used to assess the association between waste management practices and climate change perception variables (such as rainfall and temperature). The results show, among other things, that the current waste management practices are landfill, open dumping, burning, and municipal waste collection. It is also revealed that there is a significant association between rainfall, extreme weather events like flooding, temperature, and waste management practices. Furthermore, recycling, reuse, and waste reduction are among the practices identified as having the potential to mitigate climate change-related challenges. Finally, it is revealed that residents sort their waste into plastic and paper. Given the significant association between climate change perceptions and waste practices, educational campaigns that connect waste management to perceived climate change impacts should be prioritized. Specifically, stakeholders should include climate literacy in municipal waste policies and community sensitization efforts. In addition, stakeholders should develop targeted programs that explain how poor waste disposal contributes to flooding, rising temperatures, and pollution</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">.</span></p>