Assessment of Solid Waste Burning Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice in Two selected states of Malaysia

Open burning of solid waste is a major environmental and health concern globally. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding solid waste open burning among residents of Kedah and Penang, Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 165 participants using a questionnaire. KAP scores were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and chi-squaredtest. The significance level for the p-value was set at 0.05. Around 57% of the female, 50.3% of Chinese, 78. 8% of nuclear families were involved. The majority were tertiary-educated, urban, and evenly distributed across income groups. However, evaluation of KAP domains unveiled inadequacies where only 37.6% demonstrated good factual knowledge,while just 21.2% held positive environmental attitudes aligned with appropriate waste disposal practices (40.0%). Significant positive correlations were found between knowledge, attitudes and practices, underscoring the relevance of education alongside infrastructural improvements and enforcement to achieve sustainability goals. Income and residence in urban areas also emerged as key factors associated with superior understanding and pro-environmental perceptions related to open burning. The study population had inadequate KAP regarding open burning. Gaps in waste management infrastructure especially in rural regions should also be addressed through regular municipal collection and responsible disposal options to facilitate transitions.