An examination of the poverty-environment hypothesis with reference to solid waste management of the urban poor in Malaysia

MD. WAHID MURAD, NIK HASHIM NIK MUSTAPHA, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYSIA TERENGGANU, MALAYSIA
Abstract: This study is an effort to examine the poverty-environment hypothesis with reference to solid waste management of the urban poor residing in squatters and low-cost flats of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. With the aim of examining this hypothesis, the study empirically assesses knowledge, attitude and behaviour of the urban poor concerning their household solid waste management. This study uses primary data collected from the level of living condition and waste management practices of the urban poor and then uses a multiplicity of statistical techniques such as t-tests of equality of means, one-way analysis of variance, chi-square ‘likelihood ratio’ tests and simple descriptive statistics. The findings of the study went against widely voiced assertion that poverty causes environmental degradation. The study, however, proposes that the problems of poverty and environment need to be seen differently as both the problems are experienced by different groups of communities in a different way.
Keywords: Poverty-Environment Hypothesis, Solid Waste Management, Urban Poor, Kuala Lumpur City