Abstract
It remains uncertain as to whether people who support waste classification end up transforming such environmental initiation into reality. Thus, to investigate the intention and actual behavior of Chinese residents on waste classification and the influencing factors, this study integrated the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and norm activation model (NAM), and extended them by adding external information factors, namely information publicity type and information quality. A questionnaire survey was conducted in mainland China, and the primary data from 349 individuals were analyzed by partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to verify the model. The conclusions confirmed that personal norm was a major predictor of residents’ waste classification intention, and there exists a gap between Chinese residents’ waste classification intentions and actual behaviors. Furthermore, strategies such as moral education and information publicity are important in policy implementation. These findings are helpful for Chinese policymakers in promoting and planning waste classification, and also provide experiences to other countries for combating similar waste problems in their metropolises.
Highlights
Years of urbanization and industrialization have made China’s economy prosperous, ascending to be the world’s second-largest economy
This study explored the factors influencing residents’ waste classification intentions and the relationship between intention and behavior using an extended norm activation model (NAM)–theory of planned behavior (TPB) model
Neither information publicity type nor information quality strengthened the relationship between waste classification intention and waste classification behavior through their interactions with intention
Summary
Years of urbanization and industrialization have made China’s economy prosperous, ascending to be the world’s second-largest economy. The cities that published the waste data in 2013 were more than the cities that did in 2017, the published total amount of household waste generation increased from 2013 to 2017 Dealing with this great volume of waste more effectively has become a major concern of Chinese governments. In 2019, the regulations on the management of domestic waste in Shanghai came into force, stipulating the waste classification standards and the reward and punishment measures, which officially marked that waste classification in China has entered the mandatory stage. It is still worth considering whether these patterns work. It is of great theoretical and practical significance to consider what encourages or hinders public intention on waste classification
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