Escalating waste generation and resource depletion necessitate zero waste (ZW) approaches rooted in circular economy (CE) and sustainability. Successfully implementing these requires measuring individual ZW consciousness, yet valid, multidimensional scales are limited. This study addresses this gap by developing and validating the Zero Waste Consciousness Scale (ZWCS). The systematic process involved: (1) item pool creation from literature; (2) expert content validation (N = 6); (3) data collection from two distinct samples (pilot N = 462, validation N = 500) using a 5-point Likert scale and (4) exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for psychometric evaluation. EFA revealed a novel six-factor structure (‘Motivation and Awareness’, ‘Existing Infrastructure’, ‘Knowledge’, ‘Behaviour’, ‘Intention’, ‘Practice’) with 34 items, explaining 64.75% of total variance. CFA confirmed good model fit (χ²/df = 3.00, RMSEA = 0.07, CFI/TLI/IFI = 0.90). Reliability analyses showed high internal consistency. The ZWCS is a psychometrically sound, valid and reliable multidimensional instrument, filling a distinct gap for measuring ZW consciousness. This novel tool offers potential for research, evaluation and policy-making related to ZW, CE and sustainability.
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