BACKGROUND: Waste is defined as unwanted remains, residues discarded, and material or by products which are no longer required by the initial user. These materials are by-products of human activities such as process of preparation, manufacture, packing, repacking, unpacking, construction, renovation of structures and mining operations. Almost any substance that is discarded is designated as waste, but it may also be considered as a potential resource.
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of the community residing in Addis Ketema and Kometa kebele towards waste disposal management Mizan-Aman Town, Bench-Maji Zone, SNNPRS, South West Ethiopia, 2017. METHODOLOGY: A community based descriptive cross-sectional study design was employed and systematic sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Data was collected from 392 selected samples in every Kth interval which was 13th, and Data quality was assured by performing pre-test to evaluate the appropriateness of data collection instrument and after collection of the data it was tallied manually, processed and analyzed in a line of its objective and frequency and percentage of the result were presented by using tables, graphs and charts.
RESULT: The finding of this study showed that majority 84% of the respondents were females, regarding their ethnicity 35.5% were Bench, also the majority of the participants (87.1%) were married with regard to their religion (47%) were Orthodox, on the other hand 48.6% of the respondents were the age between 21-30. Furthermore, the study showed that 81.8% of the respondents have good knowledge, 77.5% of the participants showed positive attitudes toward waste management as well as 76.9% of participants have a good practice toward waste management.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: The finding of the study revealed that majority of Mizan-Aman town community has a good level of knowledge, have a positive attitude and showed good practice toward waste management.
