Can Internet Use Narrow the Gap between Farmers’ Willingness and Behavior in Waste Classification? Empirical Evidence from Rural Areas in Jiangsu Province, China
1. Introduction
Classifying household garbage plays a crucial role in transforming lifestyles to be more eco-friendly [1], and is important for environmental protection and achieving sustainable development. Since 2004, China has been the world’s largest producer of household garbage [2]. In recent years, the Chinese government is increasingly focused on issues around the classification of household garbage [3]. For rural China, the effective management of garbage is related to the livelihood and well-being of nearly 500 million farmers and influences the environmental improvement of over 90% of the land area. However, with increases in farmers’ economic incomes, consumption levels rise, resulting in a sharp increase in rural China’s garbage production [4]. Research has shown that rural China produces approximately 0.8 kg of household garbage per person per day [5], with an annual growth rate of 8% to 10% [6]. Based on the estimated rural population of around 498 million at the end of 2022, rural China produces 145 million tons of household garbage annually. Without such a vast amount of garbage being scientifically classified and resourcefully utilized, the ecological environment could face severe threats.
Theory and practice have shown that classified collection and treatment are effective ways to treat household garbage. Farmers are the main producers of rural household garbage and the main executors of waste classification. Their willingness and behavior influence the effectiveness of household garbage management [7]. In the current research, scholars have addressed issues around rural household waste classification and governance from macro and microdimensions. (1) The effectiveness of waste management policies in different countries or regions have been studied, and scholars have compared the characteristics of different waste management models [8,9,10]. Other scholars have explored the impact of different macropolicies such as the institutional environment, reward and punishment measures, and promotional policies on waste classification [6,11,12]. For example, Zhang and Zhao [13] found that monitoring combined with reward and punishment systems can effectively promote residents’ participation in waste classification. They also found that combining reward and punishment systems proves more effective. (2) Researchers have primarily studied residents’ willingness, behaviors, and the influencing factors for household waste classification [14,15], along with potential strategies for improving household waste classification and governance [16,17]. In addition, some researchers have found that psychological factors such as environmental awareness, environmental skills, and group identity significantly influence residents’ willingness and behavior toward waste classification [5,18,19].
Although the classification of household garbage is crucial, the actual implementation of relevant policies faces many challenges. In recent years, Chinese residents have shown improved environmental awareness. However, many lack the necessary knowledge and skills to classify garbage effectively, leading to a poor implementation of classification policies [20]. A particularly noteworthy phenomenon is that most Chinese residents have a willingness to classify garbage, but a considerable portion of them do not carry out waste classification in their daily lives. A survey of urban Chinese residents revealed that while 82.5% of participants expressed a willingness to classify garbage, only 13% did so [21]. Surveys targeting rural residents reported similar findings [22].
Studies indicate that Internet use influences the willingness and behavior of rural residents when it comes to waste classification [23]. China’s digital expansion in rural areas has been rapidly growing, enhancing the online accessibility for farmers. This widespread Internet use has revolutionized farmers’ information access, production methods, and lifestyle habits [24,25], reshaping their environmental awareness. Farmers can acquire garbage classification-related knowledge and learn classification-related skills through words, pictures, videos, and other means on the Internet, which can facilitate the implementation of garbage classification. Moreover, the Internet-embedded governance field can effectively provide technology empowerment and improve governance effectiveness, and has played a positive role in the implementation, supervision, publicity, and other processes of waste classification. The Internet brings efficient policy publicity, which is conducive to the formation of public awareness of environmental protection [26]. Current research primarily explores the impact of Internet use on farmers in areas like labor employment, agricultural production, and welfare levels [27,28,29]. However, as ecological and environmental concerns in rural areas grow, researchers are increasingly exploring how Internet use affects farmers’ attitudes and actions towards waste classification [8,30]. For example, Liu et al. [31] found that using the Internet can positively influence farmers’ willingness to classify garbage, though different Internet types on farmers’ willingness to classify garbage is heterogeneous. Zhou et al. [32] and Xu et al. [22] also found that the use of the Internet has significantly improved farmers’ willingness and action on waste classification.
Existing research has provided an important theoretical basis for this article, but there remain gaps in understanding. First, in the existing research on the willingness and behavior of household waste classification among farmers, most of the literature treats classification willingness and classification behavior as two distinct dependent variables, and emphasizes that willingness has a direct determining effect on behavior. However, only a few researchers have examined the deviation between farmers’ willingness and behavior in waste classification as a separate dependent variable. Second, while some researchers have confirmed the discrepancy between farmers’ willingness and behavior in waste classification [33], they have not delved deeply into the mechanisms of this inconsistency. Furthermore, more evidence is needed to determine if, and how, Internet use influences farmers’ attitudes and behaviors around waste classification [21]. Third, while some studies have considered how institutional constraints enhance farmers’ willingness and behavior, the potential moderating effect of these constraints on the relationship between Internet use and the gap in farmers’ willingness and behavior remains untested. Given these gaps, we draw from the China Land Economy Survey data and target farmers willing to classify household waste. We aim to determine whether Internet use can reduce the discrepancy between farmers’ intent and actions concerning waste classification. Additionally, we evaluate the mediating roles of ecological awareness and knowledge perception and the moderating effects of institutional constraints. This study’s findings help address certain limitations in the existing theoretical and empirical approaches.
5. Conclusions and Recommendations
In recent years, with a heightened global focus on ecological preservation, the management and categorization of household waste has gained traction as a critical academic and practical concern. This study, anchored in data from the 2021 China Land Economy Survey, offers a deep dive into how Internet usage can shape the alignment between farmers’ willingness and behavior regarding waste classification in rural China and analyzes the mechanisms of ecological awareness, knowledge perception, and institutional constraints in this impact path. The results indicate the following: (1) In rural China, there is a significant deviation between farmers’ willingness and behavior to classify waste. Survey data show that, although nearly 90% of the sample farmers are willing to carry out waste classification, nearly 40% of the farmers who are willing to carry out waste classification have not implemented waste classification behavior. (2) The use of the Internet has a significant negative impact on the deviation between farmers’ willingness and behavior towards waste classification. In other words, the use of the Internet can convert farmers’ willingness to waste classification into waste classification behavior. From the perspective of marginal effects, for every increase in Internet use of 1 unit, the probability of farmers’ willingness to deviate from their behavior in waste classification will decrease by 10.4%. (3) Mechanism analysis shows that ecological awareness and knowledge perception play a partial mediating role in the impact path of Internet use on the deviation of farmers’ willingness and behavior towards waste classification. Specifically, the mediating effects of ecological awareness and knowledge perception account for 12.9% and 52.6% of the total effects, respectively. (4) Further analysis reveals that institutional constraints can not only directly and negatively affect the deviation of farmers’ willingness and behavior towards waste classification, but also have a positive moderating effect on the impact path of Internet use on the deviation of farmers’ willingness and behavior towards waste classification. The negative effects of Internet use on farmers’ willingness and behavior towards waste classification are exacerbated by institutional constraints. (5) A heterogeneity analysis found greater negative impacts of Internet use on farmers’ willingness and behavior in waste classification in suburban villages and villages with environmental governance projects.
Based on this study’s findings, it is evident that to address the discrepancy between farmers’ willingness and behavior regarding waste management in rural China, comprehensive policy measures are required. We suggest the following: (1) Strengthen the construction of rural Internet infrastructure. We need to accelerate the construction of the rural network infrastructure, increase the penetration rate of rural Internet, and provide good conditions for ensuring that farmers use digital tools. Accelerate the development of the Internet and digital platforms for rural residential environment improvement, give attention to digital technology in the classified treatment of rural household garbage, and improve the efficiency of rural household garbage treatment. (2) Strengthen waste classification policies and knowledge dissemination. Online media should appropriately strengthen publicity and education on environmental protection and waste classification so that farmers can understand the importance of household waste classification and treatment through the Internet, and thereby enhance their awareness of environmental responsibility. At the same time, diversified waste classification knowledge and skills training should be provided to farmers through the Internet to improve their practical ability in waste classification. (3) Formulate and implement reward and punishment measures for waste classification. The government should continue to improve the household waste classification system and policy system, improve the constraint and incentive mechanism for household waste classification, and actively create a good atmosphere for everyone to participate. Village cadres should pay more attention to the classification and management of rural household waste, improve the reward and punishment rules for village waste classification by revising village regulations and implementing point system management, and promote the conversion of farmers’ willingness to classify garbage into waste classification behavior. (4) Reasonably arrange garbage sorting and collection stations to effectively promote easy and convenient sorting services. Rural communities need to combine the characteristics of village population size, agricultural production, and daily life, as well as the amount and composition of household waste generated to set corresponding garbage classification and recycling standards and collection time plans for different types of waste, and to set up appropriate and easily identifiable garbage collection stations. Moreover, when planning the geographical distribution of garbage collection sites in a reasonable manner, special attention should be paid to the spatial distribution characteristics of rural residential areas in order to reduce the time and energy consumption of rural residents for household waste classification and recycling, enhance the convenience of garbage classification services, and truly achieve the reduction, resource utilization, and harmless treatment of rural household waste.
While offering valuable insights into the relationship between Internet use and farmers’ behaviors, there are certain limitations. The binary distinction of farmers either using or not using the Internet might oversimplify the reality. Variations in Internet usage, such as frequency, purpose, or the nature of content consumed, might all influence farmers’ behaviors differently. Some might use the Internet primarily for entertainment, while others might engage in educational or agricultural forums, which could provide varying levels of exposure to waste management practices. Moreover, this study’s focus on farmers already inclined to classify waste potentially overlooks a significant portion of the population. Those farmers without an initial willingness to classify garbage represent a crucial demographic to study, as they might need different interventions or strategies to shift their mindset. Convincing this group might present unique challenges, and understanding the barriers to their engagement could be instrumental in devising more comprehensive waste management strategies. Future research might benefit from a more nuanced understanding of farmers’ Internet use and from expanding this study’s scope to include those without an initial inclination towards waste classification.
