Sustainable Management of Urban Solid Waste in São Tomé and Príncipe: Contributions of Environmental Education

Abstract

In São Tomé and Príncipe, changes in lifestyles and consumption patterns have led to an in-crease in the import and marketing of a wide variety of packaged products, leading to an in-crease in the production of solid urban waste. As an island country, waste management has been a major problem. For this reason, environmental education projects are more urgently needed to stimulate reduction, reuse and separation at source. The aim of this study is to know the uses that the people who go to the dump make of the collected residues and the economic importance of this activity for the families, to sensitize the different agents related to the waste management to the importance of the prevention and reduction of waste production. A questionnaire was applied to the residents of the Wastebasket and an interview was held with the representatives of the District Chambers of Água-Grande and Mé-Zochi. An action was taken to sensitize the children attending the nearest school. The results show that there is widespread awareness of the adverse consequences of direct handling and non-treatment of waste, but perpetuates its collection for economic reasons and the lack of more restrictive management rules.