Determinants and the Moderating Effect of Perceived Policy Effectiveness on Residents’ Separation Intention for Rural Household Solid Waste

Abstract

Currently, villages “besieged with garbage” have become a serious problem in rural areas of China. Separation of rural residential solid waste (RRSW) is one of the main strategies for waste reduction. Although previous studies have analyzed the social and psychological motivations of residents’ separation intention for municipal solid waste (MSW), little attention has been paid to the situation in rural areas. This paper investigates key factors influencing rural residents’ separation intention, as well as analyzing the moderating effects of perceived policy effectiveness on the relationship between the determinants and the intention, using survey data of 538 rural residents in the province of Sichuan in China. The results show that all the proposed key factors influence the separation intention significantly. Furthermore, the policies were divided into two types and the moderating effects were tested for each type. The results show that the perceived effectiveness of both the inducement policy and the capacity building policy moderated the relationship between attitude and separation intention positively, while the perceived effectiveness of the inducement policy moderated the relationship between subjective norms and intention negatively. The findings provide insightful information for policymakers to design effective RRSW separation policies.

Investigating Rural Domestic Waste Sorting Intentions Based on an Integrative Framework of Planned Behavior Theory and Normative Activation Models: Evidence from Guanzhong Basin, China

“…Second, there are many factors, both internal and external, that affect farmers’ intentions regarding domestic waste sorting. In addition to the factors mentioned in this study, other influencing factors, such as environmental values [ 11 ], perceived policy effectiveness [ 52 ], penalty mechanisms [ 7 ], and facility convenience [ 28 ], may affect farmers’ behavioral intention with regard to domestic waste sorting. Further research can add these factors to the conceptual framework and conduct empirical tests to improve the comprehensive study of influencing factors.…”

The Impact of Education and Residential Environment on Long-Term Waste Management Behavior in the Context of Sustainability

“…The residential area of households has a significant direct influence on waste generation (Skourides et al [8]; Liao [58]), so changing the household location (rural and urban) leads to a significant increase in the amount of waste generated [9,10]. Other variables positively correlated with the amount of waste generated by households are: household size, family members' availability to spend their leisure time outside the household, consumption pattern and household income.…”

Perceived Value Influencing the Household Waste Sorting Behaviors in Rural China

“…Thirdly, rural people with long-term bad waste disposal habits, including careless dumping, incineration, or landfill, aggravate environmental pollution, such as land, water, or air, and even threaten the physical and mental health of rural people [ 3 , 4 ]. Lastly, the low education level of the rural people makes it difficult for them to accept the new recycling facilities such as compost houses and intelligent recycling equipment, which leads to a low level of waste re-utilization in rural areas [ 5 , 6 ]. To solve the problems of garbage disposal in rural areas, in 2017, the Ministry of Housing and Construction of China selected 100 pilot counties to launch rural waste classification and resource utilization activities.…”