IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i19p12141-d924798.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

What Factors Affect Farmers’ Levels of Domestic Waste Sorting Behavior? A Case Study from Shaanxi Province, China

Author

Listed:
  • Yalin Yuan

    (College of Economics and Management, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China)

  • Minyue Xu

    (College of Economics and Management, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China)

  • Hanxin Chen

    (College of Economics and Management, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China)

Abstract

Waste sorting is a key element for solving the current predicament of rural waste management. In the pilot areas of China, farmers’ domestic waste sorting behavior (DWSB) varies significantly, whereas there are few studies exploring the mechanism of its formation. To fill this research gap, this study constructs a research model of the internal logic of farmers’ waste sorting levels (i.e., no sorting; sorting recyclable waste; sorting recyclable and kitchen waste; and sorting recyclable, kitchen, harmful, and other waste) by considering circumstantial constraints (social norms in external factors) and psychological behavioral antecedents (personal norms and group identity in internal factors). Based on pilot survey data from farmers in Shaanxi Province, China, the results of the ordered logit model indicate that social norms and personal norms were the most significant predictors of the level of DWSB, while group identity was found to have no significant influence. Furthermore, the results of the grouping regression analysis showed that personal norms had a positive moderating effect on the relationship between social norms and farmers’ DWSB. Therefore, a more positive social atmosphere, better education, and personal environmental moral responsibility for domestic waste sorting should be established to enhance their levels of waste sorting behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Yalin Yuan & Minyue Xu & Hanxin Chen, 2022. "What Factors Affect Farmers’ Levels of Domestic Waste Sorting Behavior? A Case Study from Shaanxi Province, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-14, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:19:p:12141-:d:924798
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/19/12141/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/19/12141/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bertoldo, Raquel & Castro, Paula, 2016. "The outer influence inside us: Exploring the relation between social and personal norms," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 45-53.
    2. Biel, Anders & Thogersen, John, 2007. "Activation of social norms in social dilemmas: A review of the evidence and reflections on the implications for environmental behaviour," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 93-112, January.
    3. Samuel Asumadu Sarkodie & Phebe Asantewaa Owusu, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on waste management," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 7951-7960, May.
    4. Qiao Liu & Qianhui Xu & Xin Shen & Bowei Chen & Sonia Sadeghian Esfahani, 2022. "The Mechanism of Household Waste Sorting Behaviour—A Study of Jiaxing, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-12, February.
    5. Onwezen, Marleen C. & Antonides, Gerrit & Bartels, Jos, 2013. "The Norm Activation Model: An exploration of the functions of anticipated pride and guilt in pro-environmental behaviour," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 141-153.
    6. Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell & Paul Frijters, 2004. "How Important is Methodology for the estimates of the determinants of Happiness?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 114(497), pages 641-659, July.
    7. Marco Bardus & May A. Massoud, 2022. "Predicting the Intention to Sort Waste at Home in Rural Communities in Lebanon: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-18, July.
    8. Zhang, Suopeng & Zhang, Mingli & Yu, Xueying & Ren, Hao, 2016. "What keeps Chinese from recycling: Accessibility of recycling facilities and the behavior," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 176-186.
    9. Hage, Olle & Söderholm, Patrik & Berglund, Christer, 2009. "Norms and economic motivation in household recycling: Empirical evidence from Sweden," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 155-165.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jingjing Wang & Mingyue Li & Sinan Li & Kai Chen, 2022. "Understanding Consumers’ Food Waste Reduction Behavior—A Study Based on Extended Norm Activation Theory," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-15, April.
    2. Zhaoyun Yin & Jing Ma, 2022. "Rational Choice or Altruism Factor: Determinants of Residents’ Behavior toward Household Waste Separation in Xi’an, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-12, September.
    3. Botetzagias, Iosif & Dima, Andora-Fani & Malesios, Chrisovaladis, 2015. "Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior in the context of recycling: The role of moral norms and of demographic predictors," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 58-67.
    4. Felix Ostertag, 2023. "Integrating OCBE Literature and Norm Activation Theory: A Moderated Mediation on Proenvironmental Behavior of Employees," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-27, May.
    5. Lin Shen & Hongyun Si & Lei Yu & Haolun Si, 2019. "Factors Influencing Young People’s Intention toward Municipal Solid Waste Sorting," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-19, May.
    6. Nor Isnaeni Dwi Arista & Dwini Handayani & Ninin Ernawati, 2023. "Is It Possible to Implement the Same Circular-Economy Concept in Rural and Urban Areas? Study on Willingness to Pay for Household Waste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-14, March.
    7. Tingting Liu & Zichen Zheng & Zhichao Wen & Shangyun Wu & Yaru Liu & Jing Cao & Zhixiong Weng, 2022. "Factors Influencing Residents’ Behavior in Internet Recycling: From the Perspective of the Adoption of New Technology," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-16, May.
    8. Lee, Stacy H.N. & Chang, Hyo Jung (Julie) & Zhao, Li, 2023. "The importance of personal norms and situational expectancies to sustainable behaviors: The norm activation and situational expectancy-value theories," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    9. Wang, Xiaonan & Tzeng, Shian-Yang & Mardani, Abbas, 2022. "Spatial differentiation and driving mechanisms of urban household waste separation behavior in Shanghai, China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    10. Peidong Sang & Haona Yao & Lin Zhang & Sen Wang & Yanjie Wang & Jinjian Liu, 2020. "Influencing factors of consumers’ willingness to purchase green housing: a survey from Shandong Province, China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(5), pages 4267-4287, June.
    11. Xuxi Wang & Jing Tan, 2022. "The Perception and Attitude of Farmers toward Domestic Waste Classifications: A Case Study on Wusheng County, Sichuan Province, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-14, October.
    12. Ossama Ahmed Labib & Latifah Manaf & Amir Hamzah Sharaai & Siti Sarah Mohamad Zaid, 2021. "Understanding the Effect of Internal and External Factors on Households’ Willingness to Sort Waste in Dammam City, Saudi Arabia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-18, September.
    13. Catherine Sofer & Natalia Radtchenko & Ekaterina Kalugina, 2008. "Une analyse du partage intra familial du revenu à partir de données subjectives," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 186(5), pages 101-116.
    14. Maria Andersson & Ola Eriksson & Chris Von Borgstede, 2012. "The Effects of Environmental Management Systems on Source Separation in the Work and Home Settings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 4(6), pages 1-17, June.
    15. Senik, Claudia, 2009. "Direct evidence on income comparisons and their welfare effects," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 408-424, October.
    16. McDonald, Rebecca & Powdthavee, Nattavudh, 2018. "The Shadow Prices of Voluntary Caregiving: Using Panel Data of Well-Being to Estimate the Cost of Informal Care," IZA Discussion Papers 11545, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Booth, A.L. & van Ours, J.C., 2007. "Job Satisfaction And Family Happiness : The Part-Time Work Problem," Discussion Paper 2007-69, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    18. Marie-Laure Cabon-Dhersin & Nathalie Etchart-Vincent, 2013. "Wording and gender effects in a Game of Chicken. An explorative experimental study," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-00796708, HAL.
    19. Corey Angst, 2009. "Protect My Privacy or Support the Common-Good? Ethical Questions About Electronic Health Information Exchanges," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 90(2), pages 169-178, November.
    20. Otrachshenko, Vladimir & Tyurina, Elena & Nagapetyan, Artur, 2022. "The economic value of the Glass Beach: Contingent valuation and life satisfaction approaches," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:19:p:12141-:d:924798. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.