Apeh Chikamso C
ECOWAS Volunteer Program, Monrovia, Liberia.
J Health Pollut. 2018 Dec 6;8(20):181211. doi: 10.5696/2156-9614-8.20.181211. eCollection 2018 Dec.
Five hundred milliliter bags of water, referred to as 'sachet water,' are widely used in Liberia, as they are low cost, safe sources of clean drinking water for the population.
This study aims to determine sources of drinking water in the study area, the rate of sachet water use, empty sachet water disposal methods and environmental problems associated with sachet water waste disposal.
Using a simple random sampling technique, 257 respondents were interviewed between April and June 2018 using structured questionnaires. On a five-point Likert scale with a mean score of 3 as the cutoff point, data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
The paper found that sachet water (mean (M)=4.37) is an essential source of drinking water in Liberia with a daily consumption rate of at least 6 bags of sachet water per individual. Affordability, availability, and safety were named by respondents as reasons for their consumption of sachet water. Improper disposal methods practiced by the residents of Liberia included ground littering (M=3.42) and burning (M=3.03).
Sachet water consumption has contributed to environmental issues such as drainage system clogs, littering of the environment, the death of terrestrial and aquatic animals due to plastic waste consumption, reduction of oxygen for aquatic life and soil infertility. We recommend the creation of policies and enforcement of sachet water production to include reuse and recycling of sachet water by-products as a requirement for licensing of producers, provision of adequate waste bins and the use of public education campaigns to educate residents on environmental best practices.
This study was approved by the Institute for Population Studies, University of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia.
Obtained.
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
500毫升袋装水，即“袋装水”，在利比里亚被广泛使用，因为它们成本低，是民众清洁饮用水的安全来源。
本研究旨在确定研究区域内饮用水的来源、袋装水的使用比例、空袋的处理方法以及与袋装水废物处理相关的环境问题。
采用简单随机抽样技术，2018年4月至6月期间，使用结构化问卷对257名受访者进行了访谈。以平均分为3分的五点李克特量表作为分界点，使用描述性统计方法对数据进行分析。
该论文发现，袋装水（均值（M）=4.37）是利比里亚饮用水的重要来源，每人每天至少消费6袋袋装水。受访者将可承受性、可得性和安全性列为饮用袋装水的原因。利比里亚居民采用的不当处理方法包括地面乱扔（M=3.42）和焚烧（M=3.03）。
袋装水的消费导致了排水系统堵塞、环境污染、陆地和水生动物因食用塑料垃圾而死亡、水生生物氧气减少以及土壤贫瘠等环境问题。我们建议制定政策并加强袋装水生产监管，要求生产者对袋装水副产品进行再利用和回收，提供足够的垃圾桶，并开展公众教育活动，向居民传授最佳环境实践。
本研究得到了利比里亚蒙罗维亚大学人口研究所的批准。
已获得。
作者声明不存在竞争利益。
