A better understanding of willingness to separate waste and waste separation behaviour can aid the design and improvement of waste management policies. Based on the intercept questionnaire survey data of undergraduate students and residents in Zhengzhou City of China, this article compared factors affecting the willingness and behaviour of students and residents to participate in waste separation using two binary logistic regression models. Improvement opportunities for waste separation were also discussed. Binary logistic regression results indicate that knowledge of and attitude to waste separation and acceptance of waste education significantly affect the willingness of undergraduate students to separate waste, and demographic factors, such as gender, age, education level, and income, significantly affect the willingness of residents to do so. Presence of waste-specific bins and attitude to waste separation are drivers of waste separation behaviour for both students and residents. Improved education about waste separation and facilities are effective to stimulate waste separation, and charging on unsorted waste may be an effective way to improve it in Zhengzhou.
AustinGHathfieldDGrindleAet al (1993) Increasing recycling in office environments, the effects of specific informative cues. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis26: 247–253.
2.
Al-RabaaniABHAl-MekhlafiSSM (2009) Attitudes of Sultan Qaboos university students towards some environmental problems and their willingness to take action to reduce them. Journal of Social Sciences5: 9–15.
3.
AsmawatiDKadirNBAYusooffF (2011) A study on the knowledge, attitudes, awareness status and behaviour concerning solid waste management. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences18: 643–648.
4.
BerglundC (2005) The assessment of households’ recycling costs; the role of personal motives. Ecological Economics56: 560–569.
5.
BernstadA (2014) Household food waste separation behavior and the importance of convenience. Waste Management34: 1317–1323.
6.
CoxDRSnellEJ (1989) Analysis of Binary Data. 2nd ed.London: Chapman & Hall Press.
7.
DominaTKochK (2002) Convenience and frequency of recycling: Implications for including textiles in curbside recycling programs. Environment and Behavior34: 216–238.
8.
GambaRJOskampS (1994) Factors influencing community residents’ participation in commingled curbside recycling programs. Environment and Behavior26: 587–612.
9.
Gonzalez-TorrePLAdenso-DıazBRuiz-TorresA (2003) Some comparative factors regarding recycling collection systems in regions of the USA and Europe. Journal of Environmental Management69: 129–138.
10.
GaoYQiCQ (2008) Present status and treatment countermeasures of municipal domestic waste in Zhengzhou City. Environmental Sanitation Engineering16: 25–27 [in Chinese].
11.
HageOSandbergKSöderholmPet al (2008) Household Plastic Waste Collection in Swedish Municipalities: A Spatial-Econometric Approach. Report within the SHARP (Sustainable Households: Attitudes, Resources and Policy) project. Available at: http://www.webmeets.com/files/papers/eaere/2008/83/paper3-spatial-8.pdf (accessed 1 March 2017).
12.
HopperJRNielsenJM (1991) Recycling as altruistic behavior: Normative and behavioral strategies to expand participation in community recycling program. Environment and Behavior23: 195–220.
13.
HornikJCherianJMadanskyMet al (1995) Determinants of recycling behavior: A synthesis of research results. Journal of Socio-Economics24: 105–127.
14.
HuangWFWangJDaiXYet al (2014) More than financial investment is needed: Food waste recycling pilots in Shanghai, China. Journal of Cleaner Production67: 107–116.
15.
LombranoA (2009) Cost efficiency in the management of solid urban waste. Resources, Conservation and Recycling53: 601–611.
16.
MenesesGDPalacioAB (2005) Recycling behavior: A multidimensional approach. Environment and Behavior37: 837–860.
17.
NagelkerkeNJD (1991) A note on a general definition of the coefficient of determination. Biometrika78: 691–692.
18.
NamaraRENagarRKUpadhyayB (2007) Economics, adoption determinants, and impacts of micro-irrigation technologies: Empirical results from India. Irrigation Science25: 283–297.
OskampSHarringtonMJEdwardsTCet al (1991) Factors influencing household recycling behavior. Environment and Behavior23: 494–519.
21.
OwusuGVAdjei-AddoESundbergC (2013) Do economic incentives affect attitudes to solid waste source separation? Evidence from Ghana. Resources, Conservation and Recycling78: 115–123.
22.
SaphoresJMNixonHOgunseitanOAet al (2006) Household willingness to recycle electronic waste: An application to California. Environment and Behavior38: 183–208.
23.
SidiqueSFLupiFJoshiSV (2010) The effects of behavior and attitudes on drop-off recycling activities. Resources, Conservation and Recycling54: 163–170.
24.
SongsoreJMcGranahanG (1998) The political economy of household environ-mental management: Gender, environment and epidemiology in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area. World Development26: 395–412.
25.
SternerHBartelingsT (1999) Household waste management in a Swedish municipality: Determinants of waste disposal, recycling and composting. Environmental and Resource Economics13: 473–491.
26.
TsimSTWangWNBaoHJ (2011) Comparison between resident and student on awareness and participation in solid waste reduction in Zhuhai. Guangzhou Environmental Science26: 49–52 [in Chinese].
WebbTLSheeranP (2006) Does changing behavioral intentions engender behaviour change? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence. Psychological Bulletin132: 249–268.
29.
WernerCMMakelaJ (1998) Motivations and behaviors that support recycling. Journal of Environmental Psychology18: 373–386.
30.
WidegrenÖ (1998) The new environmental paradigm and personal norms. Environment and Behavior31: 75–100.
31.
WilliamsIDTaylorC (2004) Maximising household waste recycling at civic amenity sites in Lancashire, England. Waste Management24: 861–874.
32.
ZhangDQTanSKGersbergRM (2010) Municipal solid waste management in China: Status, problems and challenges. Journal of Environmental Management91: 1623–1633.
