Studying Waste Separation Behaviors and Environmental Impacts toward Sustainable Solid Waste Management: A Case Study of Bang Chalong Housing, Samut Prakan, Thailand

Pavinee Pongpunpurt, Pakornkeat Muensitthiroj, Pat Pinitjitsamut, Pavisorn Chuenchum, Pisut Painmanakul, Nattawin Chawaloesphonsiya and Thaksina Poyai
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Pavinee Pongpunpurt: Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Pakornkeat Muensitthiroj: Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Pat Pinitjitsamut: Global Engineering for Development, Environment and Society, Department of Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering, School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
Pavisorn Chuenchum: Department of Water Resources Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Pisut Painmanakul: Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Nattawin Chawaloesphonsiya: Research Unit on Technology for Oil Spill and Contamination Management, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Thaksina Poyai: Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-22

Abstract: This study aims to develop more inclusive and sustainable waste management practices to be implemented in Bang Chalong Housing, a model community with unsatisfactory waste separation and recycling rate. The extended theory of planned behavior was employed to investigate the effect of attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, knowledge, and situational factors on household waste separation intention and behavior, using structural equation modeling as a tool. Based on the questionnaire responses of 321 residents, the house owner’s status exhibited a considerable impact on waste-sorting behavior. Knowledge ( β = 0.653; p < 0.001) and subjective norm ( β = 0.160; p < 0.05) were two significant predictors of the respondents’ intention, which showed a strong influence on household waste separation behavior ( β = 0.804; p < 0.001). Various waste management scenarios were also evaluated through material flow analysis and life cycle assessment. Installing a waste-sorting plant in addition to the current approach (recycling and landfilling) could annually reduce 26.4 tons of solid waste from being landfilled and mitigate GHG emissions by up to 47.4 tons CO 2 equivalent. Finally, the implications of these results on designing interventions and amending waste management schemes were discussed.

Keywords: municipal solid waste; source separation; waste recycling; extended TPB; structural equation modeling; material flow analysis; life cycle assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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