Happiness is From within: Power of thought Personal Experience

Reflecting on the results, it is clear that Extension 11 in Ikageng is heavily littered, the extent of this is still to be determined. Typically, the most common type of litter found in the area include plastic wrappers and containers as well as cans. The average litterer in Extension 11 is typically male and between the ages of 19-35 years old, this is consistent with existing literature that shows that young people are usually the main contributors towards littering. The reason why men are more likely to litter than women can be explained by men trying to protect their gender identity by associating cleanliness and pro-environmental behaviours with femininity. The frequency with which residents litter shows that littering in this community is a habitual occurrence.

Littering attitude can be regarded as a psychological inclination to react with a certain degree of positive or negative outlook towards incorrect waste disposal methods. At this stage the residents of Ikageng appear to have a positive attitude towards littering because the majority of the residents participate in littering. While residents have a positive attitude towards littering, researchers observed that when it comes to their own yards, residents are more proactive in tidying up and keeping their yards clean, thus having a negative attitude towards littering where their personal space is concerned. Littering in this community is a social norm, this is supported by the fact that the majority of residents who litter do so in the presence of others.

The general consensus amongst residents is that littering is wrong but residents still participated in littering the area. Some residents feel compelled to litter due to the municipality trucks not coming consistently as well as not all types of litter being collected like glass bottles and grass or stones. The researchers noted that the residents had an external locus of control describes the locus of control as, a person’s perception that internal or external factors are responsible for their behaviours. The residents justify their littering behaviour by blaming the municipality for their actions.

The resident’s level of environmental awareness has no positive impact on the residents littering behaviours or attitudes. The residents demonstrated that they have sufficient levels of environmental awareness despite this the majority of residents’ still litter.

Conclusion

Littering is a persistent problem in Ikageng, the majority of the residents have a positive attitude to littering. This attitude contributes immensely to the degree of littering in the community, as residents attitude influences their littering behaviour. To reduce the amount of littering in the community, residents would need to adopt pro-environmental attitudes.