BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Campuses have the position to encourage the practice of sustainability among students. Earlier studies regarding campus sustainability primarily concentrated on waste management policies, waste generation, and waste utilization. However, studies on green campus initiatives and students'' pro-environmental practices in plastic waste management are still relatively rare. Investigating plastic waste management practices has become an important study to conduct as a basis for policymaking and providing appropriate recommendations. The study aimed to explore how students manage plastic waste by reviewing their strategies for segregation, reduction, reuse, recycling, and disposal, all within the context of the waste management hierarchy.METHODS: A survey approach was implemented, characterized by a descriptive-quantitative framework, involving the distribution of closed questionnaires to a total of 1,038 students selected via proportionate stratified random sampling, following the guidelines of the Isaac and Michael formula. The collected data were analyzed using the Weighted Mean technique to assign scores to answer choices based on predetermined weights corresponding to the Likert scale to indicate the level of constructs of student practices in plastic waste management.FINDINGS: The findings demonstrate that students have plastic waste management practices classified as "good" across the three green campuses. The study indicates that students at the three environmentally friendly campuses are generally more involved in reuse practices (68.17 percent), reduction (67.92 percent), segregation (64.17 percent), and disposal (62.83 percent). Nevertheless, they exhibit a lack of effectiveness in recycling practices (56.67 percent), which suggests a requirement for increased attention. This study emphasizes the need for educational efforts focused on recycling practices, with implementation aligned with the sustainable development goals.CONCLUSION: Through plastic waste management practices, students can be empowered to contribute as agents of change in solving environmental problems. This analysis reveals that the approach of managing plastic waste via reduction and reuse is more readily embraced by students, given that it is easier to implement both psychologically and structurally in a green campus environment. Developing students'' skills, participation, and recycling practices through the curriculum and various programs integrated with environmental education can provide long-term experiences to achieve sustainable green campuses.
Shaherani et al. (Wed,) studied this question.