Background:

With the increasing production of domestic waste in South African urban areas, household waste separation has become a crucial recycling activity for better management of domestic waste and a decrease in environmental pollution.

Focus of the article:

This empirical study investigates how normative influences can shape the intention to separate household waste and how these influences are moderated by sociodemographic attributes and upstream social marketing interventions (recycling policy implementation).

Research Hypotheses:

The hypotheses stipulate that descriptive, injunctive, and moral norms have an influence on the behavioral intention to separate household waste before disposal. Policy implementation and sociodemographic variables moderate the impact of these normative forces on behavioral intention.

Methods:

A cross-sectional design was applied to this study. A survey was administered to collect quantitative data from 350 households residing in a city that is currently implementing a mandatory recycling policy (Johannesburg) and from 349 households in a city that is not doing so (Tshwane). Structural equation modeling and moderation analysis were the main data analysis techniques applied to this study.

Results:

The findings underline the importance of injunctive and moral norms in influencing the intention to separate household waste. Gender and age appeared to play an important moderating role in the relationships between norms and behavioral intention. Policy implementation had no effect on the reported influences of social and moral norms on the intention to separate household waste.

Recommendations for Practice:

Policy makers in emerging markets are encouraged to apply more persuasive and decisive actions such as financial incentives (or disincentives) that will motivate households to comply with recycling policies.

Limitations:

One limitation of this study is the application of a cross-sectional design relying on self-reported measures of norms and behavioral intention.

中文翻译：

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规范对家庭废物分类的影响：政策实施和社会人口统计学变量的调节作用

背景：

随着南非城市地区生活垃圾产量的增加，家庭垃圾分离已成为至关重要的回收活动，以更好地管理生活垃圾并减少环境污染。

文章重点：

这项实证研究调查了规范性影响如何塑造分离生活垃圾的意图，以及社会人口统计学特征和上游社会营销干预措施（回收政策的实施）如何缓解这些影响。

研究假设：

假设规定，描述性，禁令性和道德规范会影响在处置前将生活垃圾分类的行为意图。政策实施和社会人口统计学变量可缓和这些规范力量对行为意图的影响。

方法：

横断面设计应用于该研究。进行了一项调查，以收集居住在当前正在执行强制性回收政策的城市中的350户家庭（约翰内斯堡）和未执行强制性回收政策的349个家庭中的定量数据（茨瓦内）。结构方程建模和适度分析是应用于本研究的主要数据分析技术。

结果：

研究结果强调了禁令和道德规范在影响分离生活垃圾的意图方面的重要性。性别和年龄似乎在规范与行为意图之间的关系中起着重要的调节作用。政策的执行对所报告的社会和道德规范对家庭废物分类意图的影响没有影响。

实践建议：

鼓励新兴市场的政策制定者采取更具说服力和果断性的措施，例如鼓励企业遵守回收政策的财务奖励措施（或激励措施）。

局限性：

这项研究的局限性在于，横断面设计的应用依赖于规范和行为意图的自我报告。