Evaluation of product and process knowledge levels and environmental attitudes of individuals working in industrial waste oil recycling in terms of some variables: The case of Efeler district of Aydın province

Objective: The aim of this paper is to determine whether there is a relationship between the knowledge level of waste oil products, the knowledge level of recycling processes, the environmental sensitivity and awareness level of individuals and the demographic characteristics of individuals working in workplaces providing services in the recycling process of used engine oil in Aydın province. Materialand Methods: This survey study was conducted using the quantitative research method, descriptive, cross-sectional design to define the situation of a subject/group in a certain period of time. The survey was conducted face-to-face with 150 people working in private workplaces and public institutions and organisations registered in the industrial waste oil recycling process in Efeler district, Aydın province, between October 2023 and February 2024. A survey consisting of 75 questions and 5 sections was used as the data collection tool. The nine-question Waste Oil Knowledge Test (WOKT) developed by us and the Environmental Knowledge Scale (EKS), Environmental Emotion Scale (EES) and Environmental Behaviour Scale (EBS) scales developed by Avan (2011) were used in the survey. The data obtained were transferred to the SPSS-15.0 programme and analysed using t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation tests. Results: As a result of the analysis, 78% of the participants received a successful score on the WOKT. The mean scale scores for environmental sensitivity and awareness were determined to be EKS= 2.48, EES= 2.64 and EBS= 2.16. It was found that there was a positive moderate correlation between the WOKT scores and the EES and EBS scores (p<.05). The WOKT and EKS, EES and EBS mean scores showed a statistically significant difference only depending on the status of having received previous course training on the environment (p<.01). Conclusion: It was concluded that the most effective factor in increasing people's knowledge of waste oils and their environmental knowledge, emotions and behaviour is the environmental training they receive. Keywords: Used engine oil, recycle, eco-knowledge, eco-sensitivity, eco-consciousness