Percepção ambiental sobre resíduos sólidos dos feirantes do mercado Ver-o-Peso, Belém (PA)

Abstract

Ver-o-Peso market, located in Belém, Pará, is a place rich in products. The market is important for both economy, culture and society. The lack of management about trash dump generates environmental problems. For this reason, the goal of this work was to analyze the environmental perception of workers at the Ver-o-Peso complex, emphasizing the separation of solid waste. To do so, a semi-structured questionnaire was directly applied to the people who work there, randomly chosen and in the presence of the interviewers. The 12 questions questionnaire was applied to 200 people from the Ver-o-Peso complex, taking into account the socioeconomic profile, their perception of recycling and environmental criteria, the interaction in work environment in relation to the disposal of solid waste, the perception of the interviewees about the environmental impacts and finally, through socio-educational activities, seek the solution to problems. The collected data show that most of the workers are male (56,5%), also more than half of them (69%) are over 30 years old and that 33% of the workers have completed high school. Still, when asked about the time working in the market, most have more than 10 years of service (57,5%). Among those interviewed, 53% did not know the difference between trashes and rejects. When questioned about the level of awareness regarding recycling of garbage, 65% answered that they considered it reasonable, as well as, 85% did not recycle waste in their work environment and that 77,5% dumped garbage in trash cans in the market. On the contrary, 94,5% responded that they would dispose correctly if there was a suitable place for recycling in the Ver-o-Peso Complex. Finally, 95,5% of the interviewers would be willing to change their habits in order to improve the working environment. When questioned about the possible environmental impacts caused by the incorrect disposal of garbage at the site, 55% consider the increase in pollution to be more harmful, accompanied by 52% who agree that flooding is more harmful to the Ver-o-Peso market. Regarding the possible socio-educational activities contained in the questionnaire, which can be carried out to improve the work environment, 37% consider valid all the presented alternatives. Therefore, it was possible to verify that great part of people who work there are willing to improve the work environment and want the fair to be a place of pride for the city of Belém.