The waste separation behaviour of primary and middle school students and its influencing factors: Evidence from Yingtan City, China
Waste separation at source has been proved to be an effective way to reduce the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) which has become a major challenge to China’s ecological environment. However, waste source separation requires effort from each individual citizen. As the important drivers of chang...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Communications |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/acc789 |
| _version_ | 1797844649075802112 |
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| author | Dongyong Zhang Jingjing Chen Lingyi Liu Mengge Hao Stephen Morse |
| author_facet | Dongyong Zhang Jingjing Chen Lingyi Liu Mengge Hao Stephen Morse |
| author_sort | Dongyong Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Waste separation at source has been proved to be an effective way to reduce the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) which has become a major challenge to China’s ecological environment. However, waste source separation requires effort from each individual citizen. As the important drivers of change and potential influencers of the future world, younger Chinese’s waste separation behaviour is crucial to the long-term successful implementation of China’s MSW separation policy. To explore the waste separation behaviour of younger Chinese and identify the factors that may influence their behaviour so as to better encourage younger generation of Chinese to practice waste sorting in their daily lives, a questionnaire survey of 579 primary and middle school (PMS) students aged between 6 and18 years old (y/o) was carried out in Yingtan City, Jiangxi Province, China. Binary logistic regression was adopted to explore the factors that might influence the respondents’ waste separation behaviour. The results indicate that more than half PMS students in Yingtan have participated in waste separation, and junior year students perform better in waste separation practice than their seniors. Students are found to have basic knowledge of MSW classification, but they are more familiar with recyclable waste and hazardous waste than non-recyclable waste. The analysis also highlights positive relationships between PMS students’ attitude to waste separation, their willingness to do it, their environmental education and their waste separation behaviour. The level of convenience of waste sorting facilities and influences from friends and families are also positively related to the students’ waste separation practice, but families have the strongest influence. The perception of a mandatory waste separation policy would demotivate students in terms of waste separation practice, while giving rewards is considered to be the most effective approach to encouraging waste separation. Finally, management strategies for improving PMS students’ waste separation behaviour are discussed and several recommendations for improvement are made. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:25:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2c4519235346468bb378627120d9c34f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2515-7620 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:25:40Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-2c4519235346468bb378627120d9c34f2023-04-18T13:48:36ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Communications2515-76202023-01-015404500210.1088/2515-7620/acc789The waste separation behaviour of primary and middle school students and its influencing factors: Evidence from Yingtan City, ChinaDongyong Zhang0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0962-7235Jingjing Chen1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9777-4760Lingyi Liu2Mengge Hao3Stephen Morse4College of Information and Management Science, Henan Agricultural University , 15 Longzi Lake Campus, Zhengzhou East New District, Zhengzhou 450046, People’s Republic of China; Agroscope, 1 Tänikon, 8356 Ettenhausen, SwitzerlandCollege of Information and Management Science, Henan Agricultural University , 15 Longzi Lake Campus, Zhengzhou East New District, Zhengzhou 450046, People’s Republic of ChinaCollege of Information and Management Science, Henan Agricultural University , 15 Longzi Lake Campus, Zhengzhou East New District, Zhengzhou 450046, People’s Republic of ChinaCollege of Management, China University of Mining and Technology , Da Xue Road 1, Xuzhou 221116, People’s Republic of ChinaCentre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey , Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, United KingdomWaste separation at source has been proved to be an effective way to reduce the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) which has become a major challenge to China’s ecological environment. However, waste source separation requires effort from each individual citizen. As the important drivers of change and potential influencers of the future world, younger Chinese’s waste separation behaviour is crucial to the long-term successful implementation of China’s MSW separation policy. To explore the waste separation behaviour of younger Chinese and identify the factors that may influence their behaviour so as to better encourage younger generation of Chinese to practice waste sorting in their daily lives, a questionnaire survey of 579 primary and middle school (PMS) students aged between 6 and18 years old (y/o) was carried out in Yingtan City, Jiangxi Province, China. Binary logistic regression was adopted to explore the factors that might influence the respondents’ waste separation behaviour. The results indicate that more than half PMS students in Yingtan have participated in waste separation, and junior year students perform better in waste separation practice than their seniors. Students are found to have basic knowledge of MSW classification, but they are more familiar with recyclable waste and hazardous waste than non-recyclable waste. The analysis also highlights positive relationships between PMS students’ attitude to waste separation, their willingness to do it, their environmental education and their waste separation behaviour. The level of convenience of waste sorting facilities and influences from friends and families are also positively related to the students’ waste separation practice, but families have the strongest influence. The perception of a mandatory waste separation policy would demotivate students in terms of waste separation practice, while giving rewards is considered to be the most effective approach to encouraging waste separation. Finally, management strategies for improving PMS students’ waste separation behaviour are discussed and several recommendations for improvement are made.https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/acc789waste separation behaviourprimary and middle school studentsinfluencing factorsmunicipal solid waste (MSW)Yingtan CityChina |
| spellingShingle | Dongyong Zhang Jingjing Chen Lingyi Liu Mengge Hao Stephen Morse The waste separation behaviour of primary and middle school students and its influencing factors: Evidence from Yingtan City, China Environmental Research Communications waste separation behaviour primary and middle school students influencing factors municipal solid waste (MSW) Yingtan City China |
| title | The waste separation behaviour of primary and middle school students and its influencing factors: Evidence from Yingtan City, China |
| title_full | The waste separation behaviour of primary and middle school students and its influencing factors: Evidence from Yingtan City, China |
| title_fullStr | The waste separation behaviour of primary and middle school students and its influencing factors: Evidence from Yingtan City, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | The waste separation behaviour of primary and middle school students and its influencing factors: Evidence from Yingtan City, China |
| title_short | The waste separation behaviour of primary and middle school students and its influencing factors: Evidence from Yingtan City, China |
| title_sort | waste separation behaviour of primary and middle school students and its influencing factors evidence from yingtan city china |
| topic | waste separation behaviour primary and middle school students influencing factors municipal solid waste (MSW) Yingtan City China |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/acc789 |
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