Degree of Source Separation and Category Option Preferred
One of the main objectives of the study was to find out the degree of source separation that would be convenient to householders and also the waste stream category into which the preferred degree of separation would be executed. The available options for the degree of separation were two streams, three streams, four streams and more than four-streams.
57.20% of respondents’ preferred two-stream source separation to all other options (figure 3). This decision of respondents may likely be due to the relative ease and simplicity to which two-stream source separation would be, compared to the other streams in addition to the flexibility and availability of space required for two bins compared with three or four. 37.30% however, preferred three-stream sorting. The relatively higher percentage of respondents for the three-stream sorting provides a good platform for any future move from two-stream source separation to a three-stream option. Preferred category options skewed towards biodegradables (B) and plastics (PL) than to metals (M) and paper (P), (figure 4).