Reducing The Present And Future Plastic Waste, Energy, And Environmental Footprints With Reference To Guwahati, Assam

Abstract

Presently plastic waste has become one of the crucial environmental issues in India due to the growth of urbanized tremendously. Plastic pollution in the environment is a global concern for terrestrial and marine ecosystems, affecting living creatures. Plastic particles found in animal stomachs and human lungs promote the development of cancerous tissues, which can lead to significant diseases in both live creatures and humans. People around India are compelled to rethink the usage of plastic and its proper disposal due to its non-biodegradability and harmful gas emissions from plastic waste. Despite this crucial problem, plastic debris can be a turning point for an environmental, economic, and social resource after improving waste handling and management skills. Guwahati, the gateway of the North-East region of India has the potential to recover valuable resources from plastic waste while also improving the city’s plastic waste management system. The purpose of this study is to investigate the eagerness for discernible change in the human population related to the current procedure of waste handling and management techniques for improving a sustainable environment in Guwahati City. This study developed a regression equation using a logistic regression model to analyze the three factors Plastic waste disposal behavior (PWDB), economic behavior (EB), and motivation (financial motivators) towards efficient waste handling obtained after doing a factor analysis of 849 valid responses through different variables. The study also investigated the validity of model fitness and the relationship between these factors through structural equation model. The overall analysis explored that these three factors were positively correlated and significant (p<0.000) hence, they will be able to affect each other and would be able to optimize the waste handling efforts with the least cost. This research article suggests that PWDB, EB, and Motivation (financial motivators) toward recycling plastic waste are the key drivers of reducing waste.