Knowledge–intention–behavior associations and spillovers of domestic and workplace recycling

ABSTRACT

This paper examined the relations among the knowledge and intention of clean recycling and the recycling behavior at home and in the workplace, and the spillover of recycling behavior from home to workplace. Through a territory-wide questionnaire survey in 2016, this paper successfully interviewed 600 respondents involved in domestic and workplace recycling. Structural equation modeling was employed to examine the correlations among their knowledge and intention of clean recycling, and recycling behavior at home and in the workplace. Results indicated that the knowledge–intention–behavior association was found in the domestic context, but not in the workplace. Specifically, the correlation between knowledge of clean recycling and intention of clean recycling was significant in the home context but such correlation was not significant in the workplace context. Intention to participate in clean recycling significantly correlated with recycling behavior in both contexts of home and workplace. Significant correlations were found between intentions of clean recycling at home and in the workplace, and recycling behaviors at home and in the workplace, respectively, indicating that the contextual spillover encompassed both conscious and unconscious pathways. The findings of this paper supplement the literature and provide insights into how to improve recycling programs in Hong Kong.

KEYWORDS:

• Knowledge
• Intention
• Clean Recycling
• Domestic recycling
• Workplace recycling
• Spillover

Highlights

• This paper examined the relations among the knowledge and intention of clean recycling and the recycling behavior at home and in the workplace, and the spillovers of recycling behaviors from home to workplace.

• The knowledge–intention–behavior association was found in the domestic context, but not in the workplace.

• Recycling behaviors were found to consistent between home and workplace. The contextual spillover encompassed both conscious and unconscious pathways.

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to Ms. Crystal P. Y. Chan who assisted in organizing the telephone survey. Thanks are given to The Centre for Communication and Public Opinion Survey (CCPOS) of The Chinese University of Hong Kong for the operation of the telephone survey. The author is also grateful to Mr. Andrew Y. T. Ng and Elsevier Language Service for polishing and editing the English of this paper.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by a research fund (Ref: 06915-06660) from the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.