Unveiling the Impact of Environmental Education: Enhancing Waste Segregation Practices Among University Students

Fostering positive environmental attitudes, particularly among young people, is key to addressing future environmental challenges. The objective of this study was to evaluate how environmental education influences the knowledge and attitudes of students in the Health, Safety, and Environmental Education (HSE) and Human Kinetics Departments at the Faculty of Education, University of Benin, Benin City. A quasi-experimental design was adopted for the research, with data collected from 200 respondents—100 from each department—using a simple random sampling method. Participants were categorized into experimental and control groups. Data collection was carried out using a validated instrument, and the analysis involved statistical methods such as frequency and percentage tables, along with the t-test at a 0.05 significance level. The study sought to examine how environmental education relates to both the awareness and practice of waste segregation in solid waste management among the two groups. The findings indicated a significant disparity in both knowledge and attitudes toward waste segregation between students who received environmental education and those who did not, highlighting the vital role of environmental education in fostering effective waste segregation. Given the substantial difference in waste segregation knowledge between students in environmental and non-environmental departments, it is important to review and potentially improve the environmental education curriculum in higher education institutions. There should be a focus on integrating comprehensive waste segregation modules to ensure that all students, not just those in environmental programs, acquire a solid understanding of these practices. Keywords: Waste segregation, environmental education, waste