Enhancing waste classification behavior: A psychological perspective
Vol 9, Issue 1, 2024, Article identifier:
VIEWS - 744 (Abstract) 164 (PDF)
Abstract
In our rapidly evolving world, propelled by technological advancements and societal progress, the pace of life has accelerated significantly. However, this relentless pursuit of speed has also given birth to pressing ecological challenges, with waste accumulation being a conspicuous concern. Despite concerted efforts to promote waste classification practices through policies and initiatives, the adoption of such behavior remains disappointingly limited. Consequently, the exploration of waste classification behavior has garnered attention in the field of environmental psychology. This paper synthesizes years of domestic and international research to comprehensively review the current state, definition, influencing factors, and potential benefits of waste classification behavior. By adopting a multidimensional approach, it aims to unveil the role of psychology in shaping such behavior, while also addressing the persisting ecological dilemmas that continue to confound contemporary efforts.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
1. Valavanidis A. Global Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in Crisis.
2. Jekria N, Daud S. Environmental concern and recycling behaviour. Procedia Economics and Finance 2016; 35: 667–673. doi: 10.1016/S2212-5671(16)00082-4
3. Meng X, Tan X, Wang Y, et al. Investigation on decision-making mechanism of residents’ household solid waste classification and recycling behaviors. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2019; 140: 224–234. doi: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.09.021
4. Goh E, Esfandiar K, Jie F, et al. Please sort out your rubbish! An integrated structural model approach to examine antecedents of residential households’ waste separation behaviour. Journal of Cleaner Production 2022; 355: 131789. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131789
5. Wang F, Cheng Z, Reisner A, Liu Y. Compliance with household solid waste management in rural villages in developing countries. Journal of Cleaner Production 2018; 202: 293–298. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.08.135
6. Agovino M, Garofalo A, Mariani A. Institutional quality effects on separate waste collection: some evidence from Italian provinces. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 2017; 61(9): 1487–1510. doi: 10.1080/09640568.2017.1353958
7. Zhang S, Hu D, Lin T, et al. Determinants affecting residents’ waste classification intention and behavior: A study based on TPB and A-B-C methodology. Journal of Environmental Management 2021; 290: 112591. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112591
8. Matiiuk Y, Liobikienė G. The impact of informational, social, convenience and financial tools on waste sorting behavior: Assumptions and reflections of the real situation. Journal of Environmental Management 2021; 297: 113323. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113323
9. Stoeva K, Alriksson S. Influence of recycling programmes on waste separation behaviour. Waste Management 2017; 68: 732–741. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2017.06.005
10. Arkorful VE, Shuliang Z, Lugu BK. Investigating household waste separation behavior: the salience of an integrated norm activation model and the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 2022; 66(10): 2195–2221. doi: 10.1080/09640568.2022.2063112
11. Tian J, Gong Y, Li Y, et al. Can policy implementation increase public waste sorting behavior? The comparison between regions with and without waste sorting policy implementation in China. Journal of Cleaner Production 2022; 363: 132401. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.132401
12. Wang C, Zhang X, Sun Q. The influence of economic incentives on residents’ intention to participate in online recycling: An experimental study from China. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2021; 169: 105497. doi: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105497
13. Lu B, Wang J. How can residents be motivated to participate in waste recycling? An analysis based on two survey experiments in China. Waste Management 2022; 143: 206–214. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2022.02.034
14. Pu M, Yu X. The research on the regulation mechanism of garbage classification and recycling based on the analysis of subject game. Open Access Library Journal 2021; 8(6): 1–20. doi: 10.4236/oalib.1107536
15. Timlett RE, Williams ID. The impact of transient populations on recycling behaviour in a densely populated urban environment. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2009; 53(9): 498–506. doi: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2009.03.010
16. Ando AW, Gosselin AY. Recycling in multifamily dwellings: Does convenience matter? Economic Inquiry 2005; 43(2): 426–438. doi: 10.1093/ei/cbi029
17. Miafodzyeva S, Brandt N, Andersson M. Recycling behaviour of householders living in multicultural urban area: A case study of Järva, Stockholm, Sweden. Waste Management & Research 2013; 31(5): 447–457. doi: 10.1177/0734242x13476746
18. Zhang B, Lai K, Wang B, Wang Z. From intention to action: How do personal attitudes, facilities accessibility, and government stimulus matter for household waste sorting? Journal of Environmental Management 2019; 233: 447–458. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.12.059
19. Shaw PJ, Maynard SJ. The potential of financial incentives to enhance householders’ kerbside recycling behaviour. Waste Management 2008; 28(10): 1732–1741. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2007.08.008
20. Liu Y, Sheng H, Mundorf N, et al. Integrating norm activation model and theory of planned behavior to understand sustainable transport behavior: Evidence from China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2017; 14(12): 1593. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14121593
21. Bueno M, Valente M. The effects of pricing waste generation: A synthetic control approach. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 2019; 96: 274–285. doi: 10.1016/j.jeem.2019.06.004
22. Wang Y, Long X, Li L, et al. Extending theory of planned behavior in household waste sorting in China: The moderating effect of knowledge, personal involvement, and moral responsibility. Environment, Development and Sustainability 2020; 23(5): 7230–7250. doi: 10.1007/s10668-020-00913-9
23. Alhassan H, Kwakwa PA, Owusu-Sekyere E. Households’ source separation behaviour and solid waste disposal options in Ghana’s Millennium City. Journal of Environmental Management 2020; 259: 110055. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.110055
24. Deci EL, Koestner R, Ryan RM. A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Psychological Bulletin 1999; 125(6): 627–668. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.125.6.627
25. Deci EL, Vallerand RJ, Pelletier LG, Ryan RM. Motivation and education: The self-determination perspective. Educational Psychologist 1991; 26(3–4): 325–346. doi: 10.1080/00461520.1991.9653137
26. Hafner D, Lillicrap T, Fischer I, et al. Learning latent dynamics for planning from pixels. arXiv 2019; arXiv:1811.04551. doi: 10.48550/arXiv.1811.04551
27. Keuschnigg M, Kratz F. Thou shalt recycle: How social norms of environmental protection narrow the scope of the low-cost hypothesis. Environment and Behavior 2017; 50(10): 1059–1091. doi: 10.1177/0013916517726569
28. Keizer K, Schultz PW. Social norms and pro-environmental behaviour. In: Steg L, de Groot JIM (editors). Environmental Psychology: An Introduction, 2nd ed. John Wiley & Sons Ltd.; 2018. pp. 179–188.
29. Botetzagias I, Dima AF, Malesios C. Extending the theory of planned behavior in the context of recycling: The role of moral norms and of demographic predictors. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2015; 95: 58–67. doi: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2014.12.004
30. Karim Ghani WAWAb, Rusli IF, Biak DRA, Idris A. An application of the theory of planned behaviour to study the influencing factors of participation in source separation of food waste. Waste Management 2013; 33(5): 1276–1281. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2012.09.019
31. Zeng Y, Tian Y, He K, Zhang J. Environmental conscience, external incentives and social norms in rice farmers’ adoption of pro-environmental agricultural practices in rural Hubei province, China. Environmental Technology 2019; 41(19): 2518–2532. doi: 10.1080/09593330.2019.1574907
32. Wang Z, Dong X. Study on tourists’ waste classification behavior: An extension of the theory of planned behavior model. E3S Web of Conferences 2020; 194: 04053. doi: 10.1051/e3sconf/202019404053
33. Fiorillo D, Senatore L. Pro-social behaviours, waste concern and recycling behaviour in Italy at the end of the 1990s. Environmental Economics and Policy Studies 2019; 22(2): 127–151. doi: 10.1007/s10018-019-00251-9
34. Cialdini RB, Reno RR, Kallgren CA. A focus theory of normative conduct: Recycling the concept of norms to reduce littering in public places. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1990; 58(6): 1015–1026. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.58.6.1015
35. Nolan JM, Schultz PW, Cialdini RB, et al. Normative social influence is under-detected. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 2008; 34(7): 913–923. doi: 10.1177/0146167208316691
36. Goldstein NJ, Cialdini RB, Griskevicius V. A room with a viewpoint: Using social norms to motivate environmental conservation in hotels. Journal of Consumer Research 2008; 35(3): 472–482. doi: 10.1086/586910.
37. Kollmuss A, Agyeman J. Mind the Gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior? Environmental Education Research 2002; 8(3): 239–260. doi: 10.1080/13504620220145401
38. Lorenzoni I, Nicholson-Cole S, Whitmarsh L. Barriers perceived to engaging with climate change among the UK public and their policy implications. Global Environmental Change 2007; 17(3–4): 445–459. doi: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2007.01.004
39. Rousta K, Zisen L, Hellwig C. Household waste sorting participation in developing countries—A meta-analysis. Recycling 2020; 5(1): 6. doi: 10.3390/recycling5010006
40. Zhang H, Liu J, Wen Z, Chen YX. College students’ municipal solid waste source separation behavior and its influential factors: A case study in Beijing, China. Journal of Cleaner Production 2017; 164: 444–454. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.06.224
41. Wang S, Wang J, Yang S, et al. From intention to behavior: Comprehending residents’ waste sorting intention and behavior formation process. Waste Management 2020; 113: 41–50. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2020.05.031
42. Oreg S, Katz-Gerro T. Predicting proenvironmental behavior cross-nationally: Values, the theory of planned behavior, and value-belief-norm theory. Environment and Behavior 2006; 38(4): 462–483. doi: 10.1177/0013916505286012
43. Steg L, Vlek C. Encouraging pro-environmental behaviour: An integrative review and research agenda. Journal of Environmental Psychology 2009; 29(3): 309–317. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2008.10.004
44. Kaiser FG, Schultz PW. The attitude-behavior relationship: A test of three models of the moderating role of behavioral difficulty. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 2009; 39(1): 186–207. doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2008.00435.x
45. Kormos C, Gifford R. The validity of self-report measures of proenvironmental behavior: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Environmental Psychology 2014; 40: 359–371. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2014.09.003
46. Schwartz SH. Normative influences on altruism. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 1977; 10: 221–279. doi: 10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60358-5
47. Visschers VHM, Wickli N, Siegrist M. Sorting out food waste behaviour: A survey on the motivators and barriers of self-reported amounts of food waste in households. Journal of Environmental Psychology 2016; 45: 66–78. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2015.11.007
48. Razali F, Daud D, Weng-Wai C, Jiram WRA. Waste separation at source behaviour among Malaysian households: The theory of planned behaviour with moral norm. Journal of Cleaner Production 2020; 271: 122025. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122025
49. Esfandiar K, Dowling R, Pearce J, Goh E. What a load of rubbish! The efficacy of theory of planned behaviour and norm activation model in predicting visitors’ binning behaviour in national parks. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 2021; 46: 304–315. doi: 10.1016/j.jhtm.2021.01.001
50. Osbaldiston R, Schott JP. Environmental sustainability and behavioral science: Meta-analysis of pro-environmental behavior experiments. Environment and Behavior 2011; 44(2): 257–299. doi: 10.1177/0013916511402673
51. Diener E, Suh EM, Lucas RE, Smith HL. Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin 1999; 125(2): 276–302. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.125.2.276
52. Helliwell JF, Huang H, Wang S. Social capital and well-being in times of crisis. Journal of Happiness Studies 2014; 15(1), 145–162. doi: 10.1007/s10902-013-9441-z
53. Vesely S, Klöckner CA, Brick C. Pro-environmental behavior as a signal of cooperativeness: Evidence from a social dilemma experiment. Journal of Environmental Psychology 2020; 67: 101362. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2019.101362
54. Puska P, Kurki S, Lähdesmäki M, et al. Male-male status signaling through favoring organic foods: Is the signaler perceived and treated as a friend or a foe? Psychology and Marketing 2016; 33(10): 843–855. doi: 10.1002/mar.20922
55. Joireman J, Posey DC, Truelove HB, Parks CD. The environmentalist who cried drought: Reactions to repeated warnings about depleting resources under conditions of uncertainty. Journal of Environmental Psychology 2009; 29(2): 181–192. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2008.10.003
56. Klein SA, Hilbig BE, Heck DW. Which is the greater good? A social dilemma paradigm disentangling environmentalism and cooperation. Journal of Environmental Psychology 2017; 53: 40–49. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2017.06.001
57. Vesely S, Klöckner CA. How anonymity and norms influence costly support for environmental causes. Journal of Environmental Psychology 2018; 58: 27–30. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2018.07.013
58. Bertoldo R, Castro P. The outer influence inside us: Exploring the relation between social and personal norms. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2016; 112: 45–53. doi: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2016.03.020
59. Han H, Hyun SS. Eliciting customer green decisions related to water saving at hotels: impact of customer characteristics. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 2018; 26(8): 1437–1452. doi: 10.1080/09669582.2018.1458857
60. Sun M, Ma X, Jiang L, Wen N. Framing waste classification among chinese young people: The moderating effect of consideration of future consequences. Environmental Communication 2021; 15(8): 1008–1024. doi: 10.1080/17524032.2021.1941177
61. Tong Y, Liu J, Liu S. China is implementing “Garbage Classification” action. Environmental Pollution 2020; 259: 113707. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113707
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54517/esp.v9i1.1767
(744 Abstract Views, 164 PDF Downloads)
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2023 Mengmeng Ren, Wei Fan, Yiping Zhong
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/