Understanding Public Environmental Awareness and Attitudes toward Circular Economy Transition in Saudi Arabia

Abdulaziz I. Almulhim and Ismaila Rimi Abubakar
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Abdulaziz I. Almulhim: Department of Urban and Regional Planning, College of Architecture and Planning, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31451, Saudi Arabia
Ismaila Rimi Abubakar: College of Architecture and Planning, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31451, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 18, 1-15

Abstract: Circular economy (CE) has been globally acknowledged as a national sustainable development (SD) strategy to confront resource shortages and environmental contamination challenges. Although public behaviors and lifestyles play an essential role in achieving sustainability, in developing countries, few studies explored the role of public awareness, attitudes, and lifestyles on CE transition. Thus, it is necessary to elicit public opinion to understand their awareness and attitude regarding CE strategy to determine obstacles to CE implementation and approaches of overcoming them. This study thus focuses on understanding public awareness and attitudes to CE transition in Saudi Arabia. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey distributed to 402 residents of the Dammam Metropolitan Area. The results indicated that the respondents had little understanding of the CE concept due to limited awareness of the topic. However, they held an optimistic attitude towards trash separation and classified their trash as “can be sold”, “reused”, and “exchanged for a new one”. Furthermore, the respondents’ level of awareness regarding the CE transition is positively related to their level of education. In contrast, the inclination towards resource conservation and pro-environmental behavior positively correlates to the age demographic. This paper thus contributes to the empirical literature on CE transition by exploring the public awareness and attitudes towards its implementation in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: circular economy; policy implementation; public awareness; attitudes; resource efficiency; Saudi Arabia; sustainable development; urban sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (20)

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