Are Recycling People Also Saving? Costliness Matters

Abstract

In view of the fact that vigorously promoting recycling has become a viable means to promote sustainable development, it is important to better understand the impact of recycling efforts on subsequent resource saving behavior. This research empirically examines the effects of recycling efforts on subsequent resource saving by analyzing the survey data of 356 college students in China. The recycling efforts, environmental self-identity and feeling of pride were measured using existing scales while saving behaviors and recycling cost were measured by developing new scales. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was performed to test the structural relationships among recycling efforts, environmental self-identity, feeling of pride, and saving behaviors. Further, the moderation role of recycling cost was tested. The results showed that (1) saving behaviors could be classified into two types based on their costliness; (2) recycling efforts have a positive effect on costless saving behaviors, while having a negative effect on costly saving behaviors; (3) both the positive and negative effect of recycling efforts on resource saving is mediated by pride feeling and environmental self-identity; and (4) recycling cost negatively moderates the effects of recycling efforts on pride feeling. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings.

Understanding Waste Management Behavior Among University Students in China: Environmental Knowledge, Personal Norms, and the Theory of Planned Behavior

“…Participants were asked to evaluate how often they engaged in the three aspects of recycling in their daily life over the past year on a five-point Likert scale ranging from “never” to “always.” An earlier study showed that these three WM items together with green purchase behavior could be empirically differentiated from reducing energy use, conserving water, and choosing public transportation when going out, and could be regarded as high-cost pro-environmental behavior for university students in China ( Wu and Zhu, 2021 ). Similarly, Wei et al (2021) also differentiated waste reduction such as bringing reusable bags when shopping from electricity and water saving, and identified the former as costly saving behavior for Chinese university students.…”

Will Costliness Amplify the Signalling Strength of Past Pro-Environmental Behaviour? Exploratory Study on Autonomy

“…However, recycling efforts only measure the degree of individual past recycling behaviour, but it does not capture the costliness of recycling behaviour, nor does it reflect whether individuals voluntarily implement recycling. Therefore, we borrowed the concept of the costliness of recycling from We et al [ 52 ] to reflect the perceived difficulty and cost of individuals involved in recycling behaviour. Typical items included: I spend time on recycling.…”

“… I feel good about my recycling efforts. Costliness of recycling (adapted from [ 52 ]) I spend time on recycling. I paid mental efforts for recycling I paid extra money for recycling.…”

Recycling Reinforced: The Synergistic Dynamics of Sustainable Behavior

“…When deeply engaged in positive and socially desirable behaviors-in this context, recycling efforts-consumers feel they have contributed to progressing toward environmental goals, resulting in increased feelings of pride [4]. In their study, Wei et al [64] concluded that consumers' recycling efforts positively influence their feelings of pride. These studies align with a recent trend of research exploring the relationship between sustainable consumption and the feeling of pride in depth [65][66][67].…”