Abstract
The Waste Management Hierarchy is a well-established framework for conceptualizing the spectrum of desirable behaviours to manage, reduce and avoid waste. To date, research relating to the householder behaviours on the Waste Management Hierarchy has primarily focused on the lower order disposal and recycling behaviours, reflecting the areas of historical policy attention. Recently, however, policy focus has shifted to ‘higher order’ behaviours such as reuse and avoidance, in line with Circular Economy thinking. To address the measurement gap, this chapter develops and tests a battery of householder waste behaviour measures across the entire waste hierarchy. The battery was piloted with 573 South Australian householders, where the ‘higher’ order waste behaviours are more likely to be displayed as the Waste Hierarchy has been embedded in waste policy directives for many years. Findings empirically validate the Waste Management Hierarchy, deliver a quantified benchmark of the prevalence of behaviours across its spectrum and explore the underlying motives driving pro-environmental behaviour.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Unmaking waste in production and consumption |
Subtitle of host publication | Towards the circular economy |
Place of Publication | United Kingdom |
Publisher | Emerald Insight |
Chapter | 9 |
Pages | 159-175 |
Number of pages | 17 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 978-1-78714-619-8 |
ISBN (Print) | 978-1-78714-620-4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 13 Sep 2018 |
Keywords
- Waste management hierarchy
- waste behaviour
- pro-environmental (green) behaviour
- waste management
- sustainable marketing
- circular economy