Factors influencing Household Recycling Behaviour A study of Japanese consumer behaviour

Waste production has been a major social and environmental issue across nations. Recycling has increasingly concerned as one of the effective ways to deal with the issue. Although there has been official recycling system in Japan, recycling rate in households has not been improved, comparing that in industrial sector. This study examines factors influencing recycling behaviour with evidence from Japanese consumers. Several factors have been identified as the predictor of recycling behaviour which come from the Theory of Planned Behaviour(Ajzen, 1991). Based on the TPB, an integrated model of recycling behaviour which includes perception of moral obligation (PMO) was developed (Taylor and Todd, 1995; Chu and Chiu, 2003). The determinants of each of the variables are also assessed suggested by the integrated model. The results indicate that the integrated model relatively well predicts recycling behaviour. There are also some findings about the determinants of each of the variables which will be discussed in this study. Implications for motivating recycling and limitations of this study will be also discussed in the end