Determinants shaping willingness towards on-line recycling behaviour: An empirical study of household e-waste recycling in China

Abstract

On-line recycling, as an emerging recycling method, can effectively tackle the problem of difficult recycling of electronic waste and irregular recycling channels. Based on the characteristics of on-line recycling and previous studies, an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) theoretical framework has been built to explore residents’ willingness to participate in e-waste on-line recycling and its influencing factors through a nationwide questionnaire survey. According to an empirical analysis of 1225 valid questionnaires collected from seven regions in China, the results show that perceived behavioural control, subjective norms, attitudes, and economic motivation have significantly positive impact on the willingness to on-line recycling behaviour. This indicates that the convenience of on-line recycling, compared with traditional recycling, is the most attractive factor for residents to participate in on-line recycling. We further examined the moderating effect of income level on economic motivation. Although the economic benefits of on-line recycling, which are much higher than those of traditional recycling, will increase the willingness of residents to participate in on-line recycling, residents with lower incomes are more likely to demand higher returns through on-line recycling. Finally, relevant policy recommendations for promoting on-line recycling behaviour are proposed.