Environmental culture on solid waste management from Puerto Caracol community in Múcura Island

Cultura ambiental y manejo de residuos sólidos en la comunidad Puerto Caracol de Isla Múcura

Abstract. Objective: To describe the environmental culture based on the management of daily solid waste generated by people belonging to the Puerto Caracol- Múcura Island community. Method: The research was structured based on a quantitative, non-experimental approach, with a cross-sectional design and a descriptive-comparative scope. The population under study was the 350 people who live in the community of Puerto Caracol on Múcura Island who live in 65 houses; in which, one representative is focused on for each household with the intention of subtracting the sample, whose exercise was a probabilistic sampling that culminated in the selection of 38 representatives to whom the 'Scale to Measure the Perception of the Population in Source Segregation' by García et al. (2021) was applied. Likewise, 4 checklists were filled out on partial waste storage, solid waste collection and transportation, waste use and central waste storage with the help of two community leaders. Results: There are conceptual deficiencies in the community related to the separation and classification of waste, in the differentiation between organic and inorganic waste, knowing the positive impacts of a due process of solid waste management, waste separation and reuse practices. Conclusions: There is a systematic problem in the solid waste management processes in the Puerto Caracol community on Múcura Island, whose reality may mark a future trend of an irreversible environmental problem that can significantly impact the quality of life and daily life of the inhabitants of the island and especially of the people who congregate this territory.