Influence of role models on public participation in household waste separation: An examination of local contextual moderators

Abstract

Despite being a popular policy tool to promote household waste separation in local communities, role model strategies have been shown to achieve only mixed success so far. The reasons for their varied performance are not clearly understood. The present study aims to address this important issue by exploring how the influence of role models varies with the social, economic, and demographic features of local residential areas. Interrupted time series analyses of monthly observations of public participation in a large waste sorting program in Hangzhou, China have been conducted to test the theoretical propositions. The results show that role models increased the overall program participation level by 5.3%. This positive influence was greater in areas with stronger group cohesion, higher economic level, and a younger population. However, role models had a minimal effect among people with a low contribution predisposition. These findings demonstrate that the influence of role models on household recycling depends significantly on local contexts and personal idiosyncrasy, implying ways to improve the effectiveness of role model strategies in motivating residents’ sustainable behavior.