Impact of Environmental Education on the Knowledge and Attitude of University of Benin Students towards Waste Segregation

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of environmental education on the knowledge and attitude of students from the Health, Safety and Environmental Education (HSE) and Human Kinetics Departments of the Faculty of Education, University of Benin, Benin City. The quasi-experimental research design was adopted for the study. The simple random sampling technique was used, and a sample size of 200 respondents was selected, with 100 respondents each from both the HSE and HKS departments, which made up the experimental group and control group of the study respectively. Data obtained for the study through a validated instrument were subjected to analytical tools such as frequency and percentage tables, and the T-TEST for testing the null hypothesis (Ho) at a 0.05 level of significance, on the relationship between environmental education and knowledge and practice of waste segregation in solid waste management between the two study groups. Findings from the study show that there is a significant difference in knowledge and attitude towards waste segregation among students exposed to environmental education, compared to those not treated or exposed to the same, hence emphasising the impact and relevance of environmental education to waste segregation practices. Segregation was found to be an essential part of waste management, and involves the collection of wastes in different types/colours of bins or bags, sorting according to the different material components and separating wastes into useful and useless items at the point of collection. The benefits include a clean and healthy environment, conversion of disposed materials to reusable items, and management of solid waste.