Environmental education and attitude towards social awareness on plastic pollution of higher secondary school students in Hooghly District

Plastic pollution is a global problem, trashing our rivers and oceans, harming animals, and possibly even threatening our health. Plastics have improved the health, safety, and efficiency of everyday life. With their unique qualities of lightweight and strength, plastics are used in packaging, automotive applications, medical systems and more. The versatility and low cost of plastics have contributed to plastic's displacement of other materials, such as glass and paper, causing an increase in plastic production at a rate of about 5% per year since 1973. A large percentage of plastic produced each year is used to make single-use, disposable packaging items or products which will get permanently thrown out within one year. Often, consumers of the various types of plastics mainly use them for one purpose and then discard or recycle them.

Environmental education is the study of the relationships and interactions between natural and human systems. It is interdisciplinary, combining aspects of natural sciences such as ecology and geography with aspects of social sciences such as economics, law, and public health. It is hands-on, student-centered, inquiry-driven, and relevant to students’ everyday lives. Two National Science Foundation boards have underscored the importance of environmental education and have called for a systematic approach to environmental education a report found that 95 percent of the public supports environmental education in schools.

The present study was aims to investigate the concept of environmental awareness in plastic pollution of higher secondary school students of Hooghly District. Concept and attitude of environment awareness in plastic pollution measure by questionnaire was used to assess their environment awareness. The data were analyzed with the help of statistical techniques like mean, Standard deviation and t-value. The result of Analysis shows that, there exists significant difference in plastic pollution awareness among higher secondary school student. Urban students are more aware in plastic pollution than rural school student in Hooghly district. Science students are more aware than commerce and arts students in plastic pollution.