Relationship between income and household waste classification in Colombia: insights from the 2022 National Quality of Life Survey Relación entre ingresos y clasificación de los residuos domésticos de los hogares en Colombia, lo que nos dice la Encuesta Nacional de Calidad de Vida 2022

Abstract

The management of household waste is a significant public health issue. Higher-income households may have more resources to participate in recycling programs, access differentiated collection services, environmental education, and economic benefits from selling recyclable materials. However, they may also generate more waste due to higher consumption of goods and services, which can have a negative impact on the environment. A descriptive correlational quantitative study was conducted on the relationship between total household income and the classification of household waste. Data was collected from Chapter C: Household Services of the National Quality of Life Survey (ECV) 2022 by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE). The ECV uses a probabilistic, multi-stage, stratified, and cluster sampling design, surveying 88 328 households. In Colombian households, 39.2 % report performing the appropriate classification of waste. Regarding income levels, 82.4 % of households have incomes below 2 minimum monthly legal wages (SMLMV), and plastics (31.6 %), paper and cardboard (31.0 %) are the mostly classified materials. Also, there is a significant statistical association indicating that higher income is related to better waste classification, and more than 50 % of the Colombian population does not perform effective classification of household solid waste. In conclusion, the main waste materials classified in Colombia are plastics, paper, cardboard, food scraps, and others.