Environmental perception, awareness and behaviour of households in the Johannesburg Metropolitan Area

M.Sc.In daily life, many of our experiences and much of the information directed at us relate to the poor state of the environment and the inadequate attempts of humankind to deal with it. Yet little attention is given to environmental hazards and environmental awareness at the level of the individual household. It is increasingly evident that the quality of our environment is being degraded. The poor state of the environment at the household level is generally associated with racial and ethnic differences, which in turn impact upon socio-economic conditions, which may be attributed in part to environmental injustice, whereby different sectors of the population experience differential exposure to environmental hazards. This study concentrates on the spheres of environmental perception, knowledge and behaviour on the household resolution level. The demographic factors of gender and race and the economic factor of household monthly expenditure are the selected variables used to determine whether these factors do in fact influence the variations in environmental perception, awareness and behaviour in the case of a sample of household respondents in the Johannesburg Metropolitan Area. An analysis was performed on the data collected during the General Household Survey (GHS) (2006), which was conducted by Statistics South Africa. The survey, using a stratified random sample, was conducted on 873 households in the study area. The findings of the study revealed differences in the number and range of concerns raised by male and female respondents on the reported environmental issues. Male respondents are more conscious than females about environmental issues. It was also found that there are significant variations in the level of awareness between male and female respondents with respect to environmental recycling programmes. More male respondents engage in recycling behaviour than is the case with their female counterparts. Respondents from Black population were more inclined to show concern for a wider range of environmental problems than was the case in the other racial groups. Waste is perceived as the most significant environmental problem for racial groups across the board in the Johannesburg Metropolitan Area. Variations were observed in the level of awareness concerning operative recycling programmes in the communities and also in the resultant behaviour with respect to the environment across the racial groups. The number of environmental problems reported as being perceived across the monthly expenditure groups varies between the limited and moderate spending groups. Respondents limited in their monthly expenditure expressed their concern for the physical environment, while high-spending household respondents were more inclined to be concerned about land degradation. It was observed that the level of environmental awareness tends to increase with an increase in monthly expenditure. Furthermore, the findings of the study indicate that an increased level of awareness of community recycling programmes does not necessarily translate into positive behaviour to improve and upgrade the environment, as in the case of collecting waste for recycling