PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN TAI SOLARIN UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION (TASUED) THROUGH AWARENESS AND ADVOCACY

Research Problem: Waste generation and disposal have been recognised as serious issues within University communities in developing countries, including Nigeria. Students' attitudes and behaviours have posed a significant threat to positive waste management practices. The study examines the extent to which awareness and advocacy shape students' waste management practices. The study's population comprises all students of Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ijagun, Ogun State. Methods/Theory: The area of study was selected using a stratified random sampling procedure, while five thousand two hundred and fifty-nine (5,259) students were selected. The instruments used for this study were the "Environmental Campaigns and Sustainable Waste Management Questionnaire" (ECSWMQ). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, including simple percentages, means, and standard deviations. Results: The findings showed that awareness creation and advocacy significantly improved student waste management practices by stimulating their enthusiasm to guide fellow students, encouraging collective action, strengthening their desire to support institutional staff in modeling positive waste management practices, and shaping their attitudinal habits regarding waste management. Despite this, other findings of the study indicate that students' intention to embrace positive waste management practices after the awareness and advocacy were restrained by factors such as: inaccessible recycling agents, inadequate designated waste bins/dumpsites, unrewarding incentives from recycling agents, inaccessible garbage collectors, insufficient space for waste segregation, and time constraints for careful and constant waste disposal. Conclusion: The study concludes that awareness creation and advocacy significantly improved students' waste management practices, yet certain factors, such as infrastructural, motivational, and time constraints, still restrain their intention to adopt positive waste management practices. Key Contribution to Knowledge: It shed more light on how positive waste management practices can be encouraged among students through effective awareness creation and advocacy. Recommendation: It is recommended that the university establish a center for environmental conservation and renewable energy, attract sustainable waste management companies that use technological devices to convert waste into currency, and set up a "Sustainable Waste Management Trust Fund" (SWMTF), among other sustainable waste management strategies.