Investigating the Determinants of University Students' Recycling Behaviour 1

Headnote

Abstract

Wastes spread to the environment negatively affect the health of humans and all other creatures. It is the responsibility of each person to assess the waste generated correctly. Recycling is an applicable option for environmental protection. This study defines university students' recycling behaviours based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour using Structural Equation Modelling. The results of the study, it is found that subjective norms and perceived behaviour control have a significant impact on students' recycling behaviour. Furthermore, intention partially mediates the positive relationship between subjective norm and recycling behaviour and between perceived behavioural control and recycling behaviour.

Keywords : Municipal Solid Waste, Subjective Norm, Perceived Behavioural Control, Structural Equation Modelling.

JEL Classification Codes : D9, Q53, Q58.

Öz

Çevreye yayılan atıklar insan ve diǧer tüm canlıların saǧlıǧını olumsuz etkilemektedir. Her birey, üretilen atıkların doǧru deǧerlendirilmesinin sorumluluǧuna sahiptir. Bu çalışmada öǧrencilerin geri dönüşüm davranışlarının belirleyicileri Planlı Davranış Teorisi baz alınarak ve Yapısal Eşitlik Modeli kullanılarak tanımlanmaktadır. Çalışmanın sonuçlarına göre, öznel norm ve algılanan davranış kontrolü öǧrencilerin geri dönüşüm davranışları üzerinde pozitif ve anlamlı bir etkiye sahiptir. Araştırmanın bir diǧer bulgusu ise, niyet öznel norm ve algılanan davranış kontrolü arasında parçalı bir aracılık etkisine sahiptir.

Anahtar Sözcükler : Kentsel Katı Atık, Öznel Norm, Algılanan Davranış Kontrolü, Yapısal Eşitlik Modeli.

1.Introduction

While a burgeoning world population of billions mainly driven by developments in healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure, and a net rise in fertility rates has spurred the global economy to faster growth, it has also caused an unprecedented increase in waste generation worldwide. Every year, enough waste is produced to circle the earth many times, making its timely and effective disposal vital.

As a result of today's increasing fast consumption habits, municipal solid waste (MSW) has a large place in solid waste. MSW mainly consists of daily items such as glass, product packaging, and newspapers. By 2050, global municipal solid waste generation is expected to have increased by approximately 70% (Worldbank, 2018).

Waste generation creates many adverse effects on the environment. It affects human and environmental health due to the reasons such as littering, dumping, and disposal. The gradual deterioration of environmental quality has been clarified by the emergence of many environmental problems, such as global warming, acid rain, and pollution (Salleh et al., 2016). Carbon...