The Development of a Zero Waste and Sustainable Waste Management Behavior Scale in Türkiye

Abstract

Zero waste (ZW) and sustainable waste management (SWM) can vary based on environmental factors, economic and technological developments, social and cultural norms, and political and administrative differences across countries, as well as within rural or highly urbanized regions of the same country. The research aims to obtain a valid and reliable scale that measures the multidimensional structure of ZW and SWM. Three hundred and thirty participants, including 213 women and 117 men, participated in the study. Participants had a mean age of 41.09 ± 12.31, with the majority (56.7%) holding a Bachelor’s degree. The study unfolded in two phases: initially, the item pool was reviewed, leading to the development of the final scale by eliminating unsuitable items. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were conducted using IBM SPSS and IBM SPSS AMOS, and the scale provided construct validity with seven subdimensions and acceptable DFA parameters: χ2 = 933.249; df = 437; CMIN/DF = 2.136; CFI = 0.913; NFI = 0.905; RMSEA = 0.056; p = 0.010. The internal consistency of the scale was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha, and total scores and subdimensions ranged from 0.701 to 0.912, indicating an acceptable level of internal consistency. Thus, this new measurement tool can be used in various studies on ZW and SWM by facilitating the analysis of behavioral motivation, satisfaction, expectation, awareness, e-waste knowledge, and access to facilities regarding existing zero waste and sustainable waste management opportunities.