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The impact of social capital on regional waste recycling

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  • Tsung-hsiu Tsai

    (National University of Kaohsiung, Applied Economics, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Republic of China)

Abstract

Waste recycling is a prominent indicator of environmental sustainability in the pursuit of sustainable development. Exploring the determinants of waste recycling is therefore of importance to policy makers. Current research in recycling has explored several important factors to assess household participation in recycling. The local community policy towards recycling is regarded as an important factor, as it can assist households in collecting recyclables as well as implementing innovative recycling programmes. In this paper we look again at the role of community in recycling by asking to what extent a region's degree of social coherence, measured as social capital, would influence its recycling rate. Using Taiwan as a case study we applied the fixed effect model in panel data analysis to estimate the impact of social capital on the regional recycling rate. The estimation shows that the elasticity of social capital to regional recycling rate is about 0.38-0.43 at the 5% significance level. This provides evidence that a region's social relations are highly correlated with its recycling performance; a region's degree of social capital appears to increase its recycling rate. This finding implies that a successful recycling programme requires interactions between society and the environment. Enhancing a region's degree of social capital can also be incorporated as a part of that region's recycling programme. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Tsung-hsiu Tsai, 2008. "The impact of social capital on regional waste recycling," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(1), pages 44-55.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:16:y:2008:i:1:p:44-55
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.326
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pretty, Jules & Ward, Hugh, 2001. "Social Capital and the Environment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 209-227, February.
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    1. Iacopo Odoardi & Chiara Burlina & Alessandro Crociata, 2023. "Pro-Environmental Determinants of Waste Separation: Does the Interaction of Human and Social Capital Matter? Evidence from Italian Provinces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-20, March.
    2. Agovino, M. & Casaccia, M. & Crociata, A. & Sacco, P.L., 2019. "European Regional Development Fund and pro-environmental behaviour. The case of Italian separate waste collection," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 36-50.
    3. Leonzio Rizzo & Riccardo Secomandi, 2020. "Pay as you throw: evidence on the incentive to recycle," Working papers 88, Società Italiana di Economia Pubblica.
    4. FIORILLO, Damiano & SENATORE, Luigi, 2016. "Self Image and Environmental Attitude and Behavior," CELPE Discussion Papers 140, CELPE - CEnter for Labor and Political Economics, University of Salerno, Italy.
    5. Damiano Fiorillo, 2013. "Household waste recycling: national survey evidence from Italy," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(8), pages 1125-1151, October.
    6. Dohyung Kim & Sun Go, 2020. "Human Capital and Environmental Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, June.
    7. Joel A. Martínez-Regalado & Cinthia Leonora Murillo-Avalos & Purificación Vicente-Galindo & Mónica Jiménez-Hernández & José Luis Vicente-Villardón, 2021. "Using HJ-Biplot and External Logistic Biplot as Machine Learning Methods for Corporate Social Responsibility Practices for Sustainable Development," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(20), pages 1-16, October.
    8. Paolo Esposito & Spiridione Lucio Dicorato & Emanuele Doronzo, 2021. "The effect of ownership on sustainable development and environmental policy in urban waste management: An explicatory empirical analysis of Italian municipal corporations," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 1067-1079, February.
    9. Fei, Fan & Qu, Lili & Wen, Zongguo & Xue, Yanyan & Zhang, Huanan, 2016. "How to integrate the informal recycling system into municipal solid waste management in developing countries: Based on a China’s case in Suzhou urban area," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 74-86.
    10. José M. Alonso & Rhys Andrews, 2019. "Governance by targets and the performance of cross‐sector partnerships: Do partner diversity and partnership capabilities matter?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 556-579, April.
    11. Isabel Gallego‐Alvarez & Eduardo Ortas & José Luis Vicente‐Villardón & Igor Álvarez Etxeberria, 2017. "Institutional Constraints, Stakeholder Pressure and Corporate Environmental Reporting Policies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(6), pages 807-825, September.
    12. Massimiliano Agovino & Maria Ferrara & Antonio Garofalo, 2017. "The driving factors of separate waste collection in Italy: a multidimensional analysis at provincial level," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 19(6), pages 2297-2316, December.
    13. Weber, Gabriel & Cabras, Ignazio & Calaf-Forn, Maria & Puig-Ventosa, Ignasi & D'Alisa, Giacomo, 2019. "Promoting Waste Degrowth and Environmental Justice at a Local Level: The Case of Unit-Pricing Schemes in Spain," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 306-317.

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