Profile of Ecuadorian homes and their environmental practicesa multidimensional analysis

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to determine the profile of Ecuadorian households regarding environmental habits and practices. In order to do so, the database of the national survey on Household Environmental Practices, carried out by the INEC in 2015, was used. With the aim of defining the types of existing households, a descriptive statistical analysis, a correspondence factor analysis and a hierarchical analysis were carried out. The variables that describe the factorial axes are: location area, classification of waste, way of eliminating waste, habits and facilities for saving water. The main results showed that 59.2% of households do not classify waste; 33.1% of households throw the electronic / electrical waste away together with the rest of garbage; 47.5% eliminate the oil and / or cooking fats with the rest of garbage and 69.6% eliminate the saving lights with the rest of garbage; 76.3% of households turn off the tap while they soap up the dishes, have a bath and brush their teeth. Only 7.7% of homes have waterside economizers, 4% have double flush toilets and 3% place a water bottle or other object inside the toilet tank. The first hierarchical group (36.93% of households) is the most representative one, whose houses are in the urban area, therefore, they do not sort the waste since they do not have specific containers or collection centers for recyclables, they deposit oils, fats and saving lights with the rest of the garbage.