This study analyzed the effects of waste management media campaigns on residents of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The researcher conducted surveys of 500 residents to assess their waste management knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors before and after exposure to media campaigns. The results showed that while residents had a generally positive view of the role of media in raising awareness, they were only moderately satisfied with existing waste management campaigns. Exposure to campaigns did increase knowledge of proper waste disposal but had minimal effects on changing behaviors. The study concluded that more frequent and effective media campaigns are needed to significantly improve waste management practices.

1. “EFFECTS OF WASTE MANAGEMENT
MEDIA CAMPAIGN ON THE
RESIDENTS OF RAWALPINDI,
PAKISTAN”
By: Aftab Ahmad
RIPHAH International University, Pakistan

2.  This study has been conducted to analyze
the effects of waste management media
campaign on the residents of Rawalpindi,
Pakistan. The issue of managing waste in
Pakistan is of great concern as more and
more waste material are being produced.
Like other under developed and developing
countries, Hospitals, electronic
manufacturing companies, Industries, and
agriculture sectors are the main sources for
generating massive waste.

3.  Basically waste management is the process of
waste collection and disposal which includes, 1)
Collection, 2) Transportation, 3) disposal, 4)
segregation, 5) recycling, and 6) waste
minimization and control.
 In other words, it is a process of isolation,
collection, and monitoring of industrial waste,
municipal waste, and reusable waste materials.
This is a complex process includes various
technologies (including source reduction), on
spot handling, and storage, collection, shifting
and transportation, processing and disposal of
waste (wie and huang, 2001; Khoo, 2009;
Seadon, 2010).

4.  Campaign Effects is the study of audience
regarding their exposure to messages and its
impact on their behavior. It is an attempt of
describing media effects on the knowledge,
belief, attitude, and public opinion of the
target people. It is sturdily inclined to
methodically to the fields of social-
psychology & psychology (Gerbner, G., 1985).

5.  In Pakistan, on time to time environmental protection
agencies, municipalities, waste management companies,
and many nongovernmental organizations are launching
various media campaigns for raising awareness regarding
waste decomposing, recycling, and other related issues
but still each social unit produces most of the wastes
which creates environmental pollutions and health issues
which indicates the need for studying the various angles of
these issues.
 This study is designed to analyzed the effects of waste
management campaign in perspective of behaviour change
communication and to investigate that how for these
campaign are helpful in motivating people for adopting
standard waste management phenomenon in Rawalpindi.

6.  The study would help in understanding the
effects of Waste Management media
campaign in the process of diffusion of waste
dispel awareness and will present new ideas
for the success in this regard.
 This study would be capacitated the level of
awareness of the selected community
including students, common masses,
journalists, academicians, and campaigners
etc regarding the waste management in the
country.

7.  To investigate effect of Waste Management Media
Campaign on the residents of Rawalpindi
 To analyze the level of knowledge and awareness
of the residents of Rawalpindi regarding Waste
Management Media Campaign.
 To search out the residents attitude change
towards waste management after exposure to
WMMC.
 To find out the residents practices about waste
management after media campaign.
 To find out the effective source of information
relating to waste management

8.  Ho: The frequency of media awareness program
affects the degree of awareness regarding waste
management

 H1: The frequency of media awareness program does
not affect the degree of awareness regarding waste
management
 H0: The frequency of media awareness program
affects the Knowledge regarding waste management

 H2: The frequency of media awareness program does
not affect the Knowledge regarding waste
management

9.  McQuail (2010) said that media presents
waste management or other environmental
issues like, ‘waste management media
campaign’ as the arranged endeavor to
influence public opinion, conduct, states of
mind and information for the benefit of some
cause, individual, establishment or point,
utilizing diverse media over a particular
timeframe. Such types of public campaign are
generally coordinated towards socially
endorsed objectives.

10.  Zahid Umer (2011) stated that Waste
management companies, such as Rawalpindi
Waste Management Company (RWMC), Tehsil
municipal corporations etc are trying to
collect, transport and recycle waste all over
Pakistan to make the environment clean, safe
and to re-use valuable resources. However
the collective behavior of the society, their
knowledge, attitude and practices may have
positive or negative impact over waste
management (Zahid Umer et al., 2011).

11.  Iqbal (2014), stated in his research that waste
management produces various environmental
problems which ultimately become reason for
spreading and producing communicable
diseases. Overcoming on these environmental
issues requires collective behavior changes which
may not be enhanced without proper flow of
information, awareness and education
programmes and for this purpose an effective
communication strategies should be adopted
which may advocate stakeholders regarding
disposal of garbage and may educate an
individual about his role regarding safe
environment (Iqbal. S., 2014).

12.  There are various communication theories related to
my topic which helped me to evaluate, investigate
and explore this topic in different contexts and
approaches. The researcher selected “Knowledge-
Gape Hypotheses Theory (Philip J Tichnor, Georg A.
Donhue and Clarice. Nolien, in 1970), Cultivation
theory (George Gerbner and Larry Gross in 1976)
and Diffusion of Innovation approach (Everett,
Roger, 1962) for this research thesis.

13.  To find out the results of the objectives
and possible answers to the hypotheses of
the problem. The researcher used the
quantitative methodology, while, survey
technique was used to evaluate the
opinion of the target audience.

14.  The research was limited to specific area of District
Rawalpindi.
 Random sampling was used for the universe of the study;
data was collected from 500 respondents in the target
area.

15.  A questionnaire was used as data
collection tool for the study
comprises 25 close ended questions
about the subject, contents, duration
and changing behaviour regarding
waste management

16.  To ensure objectivity in the results of this study,
balance and accurate findings the researcher used
SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences
version-19) for quantitative data analysis.
 Microsoft word and Microsoft Excel were used for
designing tables, graphs, charts and composing the
thesis script. The questionnaire was translated into
Urdu through “In Page” Urdu software version
2009.

17.  Frequency distribution
 Hypotheses Testing (Regression)

18.  Demographic Status of the Respondents
 The demographic status of the respondents consist
gender, age, education and marital status to check out
awareness of respondents about waste management.
 The study revealed that a greater portion of the
population was married 235 (54.9, percent), aged 20
to 30 years 269(62.9 percent) and 85 (43.3) were post
graduate males and females responded to
questionnaire.

19.  Role of Media in Creating Awareness
regarding Waste Management
 The fig.5.3 Explain the percentage and
frequency of the participants’ views
regarding role of media in creating
awareness regarding waste management.
The figure illustrate that 5.1 % are strongly
agree, 73.5 % are agree, 15 % are neither
agree nor disagree, 4.2 % opted disagree,
and 1.6 % responded by saying strongly
disagree.

20.  source of Knowledge about waste management
 Table 5.2 illustrates the percentage and
frequencies distribution regarding
respondents’ source of knowledge about waste
management. The table depict that 3.0 % of the
respondents enhanced waste management
related knowledge from father, 18 % opted
mother, 0.9 % opted relatives, 15.9 % opined
newspaper, 21.8 % opted radio, 37.5 %
indicated television, while 3.3% termed
concerned field workers as their source of
knowledge regarding waste management.

21.  satisfaction on waste management media
campaign
 Table.5.3 Show the level of satisfaction of the
respondents about waste management media
campaigns carried by the concerned
government waste management department
and other organization. Out of the total
participants 5.6 % were completely dissatisfied,
15 % responded by saying somewhat
dissatisfied, 48.9 % responded with neither
satisfied nor dissatisfied, 24 % opted somewhat
satisfied, and 5.9 % responded by saying
completely satisfied.

22.  level of following media persuasion regarding
waste management.
 The table 5.6 illustrates the percentage and
frequency distribution of the respondents
towards media persuasion. Results indicates
that 3.3 % respondents opted almost never,
15.5 % never, 20.6 % responded by saying they
follow media persuasion very often, 14.8 %
opted sometimes and 45.9 % participants
responded by saying they following media
persuasion always.

23.  Differences in opinion in sample residents,
perception regarding waste management
 The study examined the level of knowledge
of the participants and asked them about
their level of knowledge regarding waste.
Table.5.8 shows that 2.8 % of the
participants didn’t know about WM, 41.2 %
are somehow knowledge, 44.7 % have
moderate knowledge, 8.4 % have high
knowledge and 2.8 % have very high
knowledge about waste management.

24.  Ho: The frequency of media awareness program
affects the degree of awareness regarding waste
management
 H1: The frequency of media awareness program
does not affect the degree of awareness regarding
waste management
 Table 6.1 the impact of Waste Management Media Campaign
on Degree of Awareness is estimated via the technique of
Ordinary Least Square Econometric technique. These results
are very crucial in the context of policy formulation for
dealing with the problem of waste management. A 1 unit
increase in frequency of media awareness program leads to
0.247 unit increase in the degree of awareness. Further, it is
clear from the results that education positively and
significantly affects the degree of awareness regarding waste
management .

25.  It might be due to the fact that educated people
can easily understand the media messages and can
also determined what are necessaries to be
adopted or to be refused. Moreover, the variable
incomes negatively and significantly affect the
awareness regarding the waste management. It is
might be due to the fact that the elite class of the
society have access to multi channels and medium.
The strata of the society who have low economic
status have less access to media messages. It is
clear from the results that frequency of media
awareness program positively and significantly
affects the degree of awareness. The drift
component is also positive and significant at 1
percent level of significance.

26.  H0: The frequency of media awareness program
affects the Knowledge regarding waste
management
 H2: The frequency of media awareness program
does not affect the Knowledge regarding waste
management
 Table 6.2 the impact of Waste Management Media
Campaign on knowledge regarding waste
management is estimated via the technique of
Ordinary Least Square Econometric technique.
These results are very crucial in the context of
policy formulation for dealing with the problem of
waste management.

27.  A 1 unit increase in frequency of media awareness
program leads to 0.214 unit increase in the
knowledge regarding waste management. Further,
it is clear from the results that education positively
and significantly affect on knowledge regarding
waste management. It is due to the fact that the
world becomes busier place and it is difficult for a
person spare time from his schedule for lessoning,
watching or reading environmental and other
relevant educational matters. So the increase in
waste management media programmes may
increase the chances of painting positive changes
on the attitude of maximum people.

28.  In the light of above test results the study accepted
Null hypothesis which concluded that the frequency
of media enlightenment programme affects the
degree of awareness relating to waste
management.
 Regarding the Hypothesis 2, from the obtained
findings the study also accepted the H0: The
frequency of media awareness programme affects
the level of knowledge.

29.  Waste management is one of the major difficulties
confronting us in this country, Pakistan. To overcome
on the issue and paint positive change to attitudes of
the residents, it was the need to launch more effective
waste management campaign. It was observed in the
study there were deficient and lacking waste
management related campaign by the media. It was
obtained from the study that the attitude of the
inhabitants are not as poor, however they were not
properly educated on waste management. This was also
observed in the study that majority of the inhabitant
shown acceptance to media persuasion
 but the need is to maximize the frequency of media
enlightenment campaign about waste management.

30.  The study depicts a very minimum effect of the
waste management media campaign on the
residents. However it does not means that media
are useless but it was because of the insufficient
coverage. The effects of waste management
campaign might be increased up to the desired
level of change, if the concerned authorities give
more attention to media coverage and designed
needful messages for dissemination. As
materialize in the study, positive change to waste
management can be enhanced through regular
and effective media campaign.

31.  It is useful for the media in Pakistan, to keep aware the
public regarding general environmental issues and sensitize
them regularly on need to manage waste properly.
 Duration of the media coverage on waste management is
short or even occasionally which needs to be maximized up
to required level.
 There should be regular news programme on environment.
 The media should give time to environmental debates.
 There should be interviews with experts on environmental
issues.
 There should be a live programme on question and answer
and in which a live call facilities should also be available for
public participation and determining impact.

32.  The information related to government policies
on waste management and environmental
issues should be disseminated through mass
media and should be uploaded to social media
networks like facebook, bebbo, etc.
 In perspective of economic uplift and public
interest, there should be a public education
programme on recycling and reusable wastes.
 Waste Management Media campaigner should
take care of intended communities preferences
and should design a campaign after doing
proper research.

33.  There are some recommendations for future
researchers:
 This study has been conducted in district
Rawalpindi only. A thorough study is
needed, which can focus the topic in other
parts of the country.
 The study was focused on the effect of
waste management media campaign. In the
future studies, the effects of door to door
campaign should be included.

34. Thank You
Journalist.aftab@gmail.com
03139856888