Knowledge, attitudes and practice regarding environmental friendly disinfectants for household use among residents of China in the post-pandemic period

BackgroundA sharp rise in household consumption of disinfectants triggered by COVID-19 pandemic has generated tremendous environmental burden and risks of disinfectant emissions in the post-pandemic period. To address this emerging challenge, replacing highly hazardous disinfectants with more environmental friendly alternatives has been accepted as an inherently effective solution to environment issues posed by disinfectant emerging contaminants. However, no study has yet been done to explore the potential customers' attitudes and the market prospect of environmental friendly disinfectants until now. MethodsThis cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted from January to March, 2022, among resident volunteers in China, to explore the practices, knowledge and attitudes of the public regarding environmental friendly disinfectants for household use. ResultsAmong a total of 1,861 Chinese residents finally included in the analyses, 18% agreed or strongly agreed that they paid special attention to the environmental certification label on the product, and only bought the environmental certified disinfectant products; 16% and 10% were using environmental friendly disinfectants for hand sanitization and environmental disinfection, respectively. The mean self-assessed and actual knowledge scores were 2.42 +/- 1.74 and 2.12 +/- 1.97, respectively, out of a total of 5. Participants having good practices of consuming environmental friendly disinfectants achieved higher knowledge scores. Residents' overall attitudes toward the development, consumption and application of environmental friendly disinfectants were very positive. Possible conflict between disinfection effectiveness and environmental factor of disinfectants in a context of severe COVID-19 pandemic was considered as the most important barrier jeopardizing the participants' usage intention for environmental friendly disinfectants. ConclusionsThese data suggested most residents of China had a positive attitude, poor knowledge and practices toward environmental friendly disinfectants. More should be done to enhance the residents' environmental knowledge levels about disinfectants, and to further develop and promote disinfectant products with both excellent disinfection activity and environmentally friendly attributes.

Automated summary

The sharp increase in household consumption of disinfectants due to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant environmental burden and risks. Replacing hazardous disinfectants with more environmentally friendly alternatives is a recommended solution. However, there has been no study on potential customers' attitudes and market prospects for environmentally friendly disinfectants. This survey found that most Chinese residents have a positive attitude towards environmentally friendly disinfectants, but their knowledge and practices need improvement.