Urban Household Behavior in Indonesia: Drivers of Zero Waste Participation

TL;DR

This study investigates the psychological and social factors influencing urban Indonesian households' participation in Zero Waste practices, highlighting perceived behavioral control as the most significant predictor of waste management behavior.

Contribution

It identifies key behavioral predictors of Zero Waste participation and applies the Theory of Planned Behavior to inform waste management policies in Indonesian urban households.

Findings

Perceived behavioral control is the strongest predictor of waste management behavior.

Subjective norms significantly influence household waste practices.

Environmental knowledge has a positive but smaller effect on behavior.

Abstract

The 3R-based Zero Waste approach aims to minimize household solid waste through the principles of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. This study examines the relationship between household environmental knowledge, personal attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control as key behavioral predictors. A structured survey was conducted among 1,200 urban households across 12 Indonesian cities. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis. The results indicate that perceived behavioral control is the strongest predictor of household waste management behavior (beta = 0.367, p <= 0.001), followed by subjective norms (beta = 0.358, p <= 0.001) and environmental knowledge (beta = 0.126, p <= 0.001). This suggests that individuals' confidence in managing household waste significantly influences their practical actions. Overall, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and environmental knowledge contribute to Zero Waste behavior in urban households. Given that households regularly generate and dispose of waste, they represent a fundamental element in municipal waste management strategies. These findings offer valuable insights for designing behavior-based interventions and inform policy development using the Theory of Planned Behavior.