TY - JOUR
T1 - Does gender matter? Attitude towards waste charging policy and pro-environmental behaviours
AU - Wut, Tai Ming
AU - Ng, Peggy M. L.
AU - Kan, Hing Ki Mike
AU - Fong, Chiu Samuel
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was partially supported by College of Professional and Continuing Education (CPCE).
Funding Information:
This research was partially supported by College of Continuing Education (CPCE).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.
PY - 2020/7/13
Y1 - 2020/7/13
N2 - Purpose: A waste charging policy had been implemented in major Asian cities like Taipei and Seoul years ago. Hong Kong is not yet to charge household rubbish, which is one of the major municipal solid waste sources. Landfill places will be exhausted in a year or two in the city. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of waste charging policies by exploring relationships among social norms, lifestyles, attitudes towards waste charging policy and pro-environmental behaviour. Design/methodology/approach: Purposeful sampling was used in this study to recruit university students to take part in the survey. Purposeful sampling helps to make a “highly credible sample” (Gall et al., 2006, p.185). This study distributed questionnaires to respondents aged over 18 years. Among them, there were 404 valid questionnaires (35.6% male; 64.4% female) that were returned with a response rate of 53.9%. Findings: It is found that attitude towards waste charging policies affects pro-environmental behaviour through lifestyles and social norms. Female respondents’ pro-environmental behaviours are affected by their lifestyles and social norms. But male respondents’ lifestyle is affected by their attitude towards policy. Attitude towards charging policy does not have an impact on young people's pro-environmental behaviours. Originality/value: Social acceptance towards any environmental policy is a must for its final outcome. It is because attitude towards any environmental policy is a starting point to affect pro-environmental behaviours. Female respondents are more engaged in pro-environmental behaviour compared to male. Almost all big cities encourage the re-use, re-cycle and reduce of waste. Before designing and implementing relevant policy, stakeholder participation is important. The new environmental policy usually has stricter measures, such as heavier charge on municipal waste. Policymakers are advised to obtain solid arguments and data support to convince stakeholders.
AB - Purpose: A waste charging policy had been implemented in major Asian cities like Taipei and Seoul years ago. Hong Kong is not yet to charge household rubbish, which is one of the major municipal solid waste sources. Landfill places will be exhausted in a year or two in the city. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of waste charging policies by exploring relationships among social norms, lifestyles, attitudes towards waste charging policy and pro-environmental behaviour. Design/methodology/approach: Purposeful sampling was used in this study to recruit university students to take part in the survey. Purposeful sampling helps to make a “highly credible sample” (Gall et al., 2006, p.185). This study distributed questionnaires to respondents aged over 18 years. Among them, there were 404 valid questionnaires (35.6% male; 64.4% female) that were returned with a response rate of 53.9%. Findings: It is found that attitude towards waste charging policies affects pro-environmental behaviour through lifestyles and social norms. Female respondents’ pro-environmental behaviours are affected by their lifestyles and social norms. But male respondents’ lifestyle is affected by their attitude towards policy. Attitude towards charging policy does not have an impact on young people's pro-environmental behaviours. Originality/value: Social acceptance towards any environmental policy is a must for its final outcome. It is because attitude towards any environmental policy is a starting point to affect pro-environmental behaviours. Female respondents are more engaged in pro-environmental behaviour compared to male. Almost all big cities encourage the re-use, re-cycle and reduce of waste. Before designing and implementing relevant policy, stakeholder participation is important. The new environmental policy usually has stricter measures, such as heavier charge on municipal waste. Policymakers are advised to obtain solid arguments and data support to convince stakeholders.
KW - Attitude towards waste charging policy
KW - Municipal solid waste
KW - Pro-environmental behaviour
KW - The theory of reasoned action
KW - Waste charging policy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85087734719&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1108/SRJ-03-2020-0102
DO - 10.1108/SRJ-03-2020-0102
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85087734719
SN - 1747-1117
VL - 17
SP - 1100
EP - 1115
JO - Social Responsibility Journal
JF - Social Responsibility Journal
IS - 8
ER -