There is consensus that environmental issues are consequences of human activities and can be addressed by improvements in behavior. Separation of waste at the source (SAS) as mandated through Act 672 is a pro-environmental behavior (PEB) at the household level to reduce waste from being send to landfill and also an effective measure in reducing waste as a whole which will ultimately protect the environment from pollution. Based on the problem statement that lack of household knowledge on how to perform the separation of waste and holding environmental ethics that is not pro-environment will hinder household from performing such behavior, this article aims to establish a conceptual model of separation of waste at the source among households in Malaysia. The conceptual model proposed a modification to Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) model to predict SAS behavior with environmental ethics and specific waste separation knowledge as an adjustment and additional factors to the original model which could demonstrate the causal-effect relationship towards the behavior. The conceptual model proposed individuals with biocentric and ecocentric beliefs to be more likely to engage in SAS behavior than those with anthropocentric and technocentric beliefs. The conceptual model also proposed that individuals specific waste separation knowledge will moderate the relationship between personal norm and SAS behavior. It is expected that the conceptual model has a potential in helping researchers and stakeholders to better understand the underlying SAS behavior among households in Malaysia.

Due to the increasing waste generation over the years in Malaysia, there is an urgent need to address this problem by implementing effective household waste separation initiatives. Although past studies have tried to explain the waste behavior from psychological perspective, there is little understanding as to the impact of environmental ethics and specific waste separation knowledge towards waste separation behavior. The aims of this article are to present questionnaire development based on waste separation behavior proposed model, pre-test, pilot test and findings. After obtaining 116 valid questionnaires from households in the district of Mersing, Johor, descriptive and factor analysis were conducted. The results from pilot test indicated that both specific waste separation knowledge and waste separation at source behavior were moderate. Early findings indicate that most of households reject the anthropocentric and technocentric ethics orientation. From the factor analysis, it can be concluded that the proposed model intended to predict SAS behavior warrant minor amendments which enable the model to be used in the future study. The valid and reliable instrument has a potential to better understand the underlying SAS behavior among households in Malaysia.

The behaviour of separation of waste at the source has been identified as one of the key elements towards sustainable waste management which aims to prevent pollution and ultimately preserve the environment. However, the rate of waste separation in Malaysia is still low. Environmental ethics, personal norm and knowledge on waste separation have been identified as among the internal factors influencing household waste separation behaviour. The study employed quantitative research design with online questionnaire as a method of data acquisition while the study population is households in landed properties in the district of Kluang, Johor. Results show that the level of waste separation behaviours, personal norm towards waste separation and knowledge on waste separation are moderate. The study also found that households are holding ecocentric and biocentric environmental ethics orientation, indicating a good sign for pro-environmental support and behaviours through the activation of personal norm. The findings of the study can be used by stakeholders in formulating policies, initiatives, programmes and strategies towards sustainable waste separation among households as part of the whole sustainable waste management system in the country.