Image 7.2.1 Typical Regional Collection Point (Photo by Fidelia Beatrice)

From the result of the interview, it seems like most people’s answer to how things could be improved is to add more dustbin around. Some said that if there are more dustbins around, there will be a higher chance that they will throw rubbish at the correct place.

With regards to how they deal with household waste, some mentioned that it is very difficult to get rid of their rubbish at home. They will need to bring their daily bags of rubbish out of the house to the central collection point of the region to dump it (Image 7.2.1). However, it is too troublesome. Thus, they would rather throw it right at their backyard, which is the sea (Image 7.2.2) or burn it in the front yard. It takes lesser effort. They mentioned that if the government arranges people to come and collect the rubbish from their house, it will be so much easier and they would not resort to throwing it into the open sea or burn it.

Here, we can see that self-efficacy, or the perceived ability to complete an action is very important. This is because, even after they are able to inculcate values and attitudes, and they want to do something, they will feel stuck because there is not much they can do. The lack of dustbin makes it difficult for them to do according to their values, which are not very strong to begin with. Thus, many would rather ignore and do things according to how things have been done around them, going back to Societal Norm.

Image 7.2.2 Rubbish in the Sea (Photo by Fidelia Beatrice)