Attitude of Shanghai towards Garbage Sorting Policy

Attitude of Shanghai towards Garbage Sorting Policy
Student Name
Instructors Name
Course Title
Date of Submission
Attitude of Shanghai towards Garbage Sorting Policy
World population and demand are increasing at an extraordinary speed, resulting in a massive rise in garbage creation. Municipal solid trash created by the world’s cities amounted to 1.01 billion tonnes in 2016. World trash production is now concentrated in the East Asian and Pacific areas, which account for 25% of the total (500million tonnes). On the other hand, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are predicted to account for 35 percent of the world’s garbage by 2050, with waste creation expected to more than quadruple. By 2050, trash generation in the Middle East and North Africa is predicted to have increased by two. At least 33% of the world’s MSW is not managed in an ecologically responsible manner, which is particularly significant. Inefficient waste management is a major source of pollution for the environment, including the air, soil, and groundwater. That will hurt both the urban environment and the health of the people who live there. Unless in Japan, where other structural and political factors may play a role, there is no unconditional bifurcation effect for waste as states become richer (He et al., 2021). As a result, there is little proof for a waste-related exogenous variable without strict policy directives, and there is no waste-related environmental Kuznets curve. In the next decade, a fundamental issue for many governments, particularly those in developing regions, will be how to manage trash sustainably. The research proposal focuses on the attitudes of Shanghai residents towards the garbage sorting policy, intending to research the willingness and views of the Shanghai residents towards the garbage sorting policy.
Public investment in terminal facilities is just a partial solution to the issue of garbage disposal capacity being outstripped by waste output. The government must support source separation to make garbage disposal easier and extend the useful life of waste disposal infrastructure (Yue et al., 2020). A new era in China’s history of extensive garbage sorting is upon us as the Shanghai Municipal Solid Waste Management Regulation went into effect on 1 July 2019 and is the country’s most strict waste-sorting policy yet (Ning et al., 2019). For the first time in China, Shanghai implemented comprehensive garbage sorting and management rules, which they effectively enforced. Shanghai is, without a doubt, China’s top metropolis in trash management compared to other Chinese cities. Other Chinese cities are beginning to benefit from Shanghai’s waste management expertise, which should interest other emerging countries. In the last few decades, environmental studies have gotten a lot of attention. Environmental concerns may not always go hand in hand with people’s pro-environmental activity. In part, this is because individuals often find themselves in a conflict between their immediate personal interests and long-term communal interests when they decide to take action to protect the environment.
On the other hand, pro-environmental activity does not immediately benefit the person but rather benefits the environment or others. Because of this, many academics are now examining how social and psychological variables influence people’s environmental views and behaviors. As a result, the following are the study’s goals: Shanghai residents’ waste-sorting conduct under the mandated waste-sorting policy; to investigate the elements that impact the pro-environmental attitude of Shanghai inhabitants; to notify the Shanghai administration of current difficulties and give solutions.
Only a tiny percentage of pro-environmental conduct can be explained by environmental education. Most of the factors that influence pro-environmental behavior appear to be situational and internal. However, this study differs from others in that knowledge is only employed as a moderating variable to affect the expanded model of theories of planned behavior (TPB) and attitude-behavior-condition (ABC). Furthermore, this study substituted behavioral intention in the TPB model with an implementation intention to explain better and predict pro-environmental behavior. Studies have shown that the link between environmental and psychological elements is unclear. They found extrinsic motivation (i.e., perceived policy efficacy) to affect self-motivation (i.e., attitude) depending on the ABC theory, which sparked pro-environmental behavior and operational purpose. If people believe that a certain policy will positively impact their lives, they’ll be more likely to put it into practice. The proponents chose Shanghai citizens because the city has substantial waste management expertise and was the first Chinese city to establish a statutory garbage-sorting program (Yue et al., 2020). The formulation of associated ideas and related treatments will be aided by knowledge of inhabitants’ pro-environmental behavior.
Research aims
1 To study the willingness and views of the Shanghai residents towards garbage sorting policy
Research objectives
1 To investigate Shanghai residents’ waste-sorting habits under the mandated waste-sorting legislation.
2 To find out what elements affect Shanghai citizens’ pro-environmental behavior;
3 To provide the Shanghai administration with information about current issues and ideas.
Research question
1 What affects Shanghai residents’ attitude’s toward sorting solid wastes?
In the literature review section, the paper will cover residents’ opinions on garbage sorting, factors affecting the effect of garbage classification, garbage sorting policy, the impact of waste separation, and the media’s role in public awareness regarding garbage sorting. Finally, the research proposals will (1) elaborate on the literature review by comparing and contrasting relevant resources for the research, (2) conduct research by incorporating the selected participants, participants will be required to answer survey questions (3) analyze and discuss the findings of the research, with will involve both computations of the results.
Literature review
Urban garbage has become a major issue as the world’s population continues to urbanize. Shockingly, one-third of Shanghai is covered in waste, which has wreaked havoc on the ecology. The MSW asked for a sustainable development approach to sort and recycle, sort treatment, transform trash into treasure, and tackle the waste problem at the “Waste Management” conference in light of the dire circumstances. The conflicting interests of the various parties involved complicate Shanghai’s trash sorting, recycling, and processing. Sorting and recycling garbage can only be made viable by including all stakeholders and enhancing the management system for waste sorting and recycling. To find factors affecting residents’ attitudes toward solid waste, a literature study will examine the following subjects.
Section One
Garbage sorting policy
On July 1, 2019, China officially implemented its first mandatory local law on the separation of municipal solid waste, the Shanghai Municipal household waste management regulation, which shows that the separation of municipal solid waste has been included in the legal framework of shanghai (Zhou et al., 2019) The MSW sorting incorporates the classified transportation, collection, throwing, and dumping of MSW based on specified standards. Chinese governments have attempted to implement an MSW classification policy numerous times in the past, but the full implementation was thwarted by numerous factors, including the unwillingness of the people and the lack of technology and infrastructure. Poor coordination among state agencies was also a problem (Zhou et al., 2019). Newspapers, magazines, television, and the internet all include MSW classification-related slogans, posters, and videos. Promotional operations have been placed in Shanghai over the previous two years, with brochures being given to residents. Citizens of Shanghai are now aware of the significance of MSW categorization (Zhou et al., 2019). Thus, creating a waste management program. China’s waste management program relies heavily on command and control mechanisms. These tools allow the government to mobilize resources by enacting laws, regulations, standards, and norms and responding directly and swiftly to environmental challenges, which is a major benefit. The Classification System for Municipal Solid Waste implemented a command-and-control strategy in 47 large cities in 2017 and established overall waste management objectives (Wang et al., 2021). Under the guidance of the State Council, cities all around the country began implementing garbage sorting. On July 1st, 2019, the Shanghai Municipal Solid Garbage Management Legislation went into force, making it the first municipal that required regulation for waste sorting in China. As a result, most Chinese policies are devolved to provincial and municipal levels. On the one hand, command-and-control tools might push local Chinese authorities to implement environmental chores carefully; on the other hand, over-dependence on binding environmental targets as China’s principal policy instruments would have numerous detrimental consequences (Wang et al., 2021). Command-and-control measures can’t adequately address environmental issues, which are demanding.
Impact of waste separation
In Li et al.’s (2021) policy, each party has legal obligations with very clear and integrated operational aspects, such as resident categorization and local government. For many years, inhabitants of Shanghai were allowed to deposit their unsorted trash in bins located on each level of their apartment complexes or, at a minimum, at the building door. Many homeowners also gathered recyclables in their houses and then phoned informal collectors to buy them at the door. Cleaners linked with that neighborhood would be allowed to take from this recycled waste for private sale to informal collectors. In the past, any central communal “waste stations” resembled barns and were used mainly for storage. Usually, there’s hazardous trash can there, too, or near the neighborhood gate. According to Pan et al. (2022), several studies were conducted at the community and household levels. Xiao chose 191 families in increasingly urbanized parts of China’s Xiamen as research samples and found that household structure and lifestyle led to substantial disparities in waste output in work-unit, transitional, and commercial communities (Pan et al., 2022). According to the findings, factors such as the number of people in the household, their socioeconomic class, employment, education level, and the time of year had a substantial impact on Oyo’s trash generation. A study of 400 Iranian households found that as work, education, and age increased, less MSW was created. According to Pan’s research, the financial status of students has a significant impact on their trash creation. As China’s economy has grown in recent decades, so has the cost of living for students.
Section Two
The media’s role 
Due to social media’s rapid popularity in people’s everyday media consumption and its rapid development, mass communication via social media is a hybrid of both mass and interpersonal communication. As a result, environmental stewardship may be promoted through the media (Ai et al., 2021). Pro-environmental behavior may be encouraged through the use of media. The fast growth of social media, which combines media with personal contact, results from its rapid popularity in people’s everyday media consumption. We Chat, for instance, had 1 billion users in 2019. Adolescents all across the world are becoming increasingly reliant on social media. Despite the importance of social media for teenagers, little research has been done on social media use and environmental activism. The sociocognitive theory holds that we may pick up on other people’s habits by paying attention to how they behave and the results of their actions, whether in the real world or the media. Media serves as a means of social inclusion, which necessitates that people adhere to social standards. It is a reality that the media has been used in environmental advertising efforts, environmental policy advocacy, and public awareness raising about environmental issues. As a society, China is a social one. Social networks and social capital have had a significant impact on society since the beginning of time. That means that particular social contexts impact the way waste categorization works. In the first place, the social network’s peer-to-peer impact will encourage individuals to safeguard the environment. Second, trust is the lubricant of collaboration since it is the foundation of social capital. A person is more likely to participate in collective environmental action when they have a high level of social trust than social networks or social norms. It has the potential to amplify environmental concerns and mobilize people to take action. It may efficiently minimize transaction costs and promote the autonomy of voluntary collaboration through self-strengthening and accumulation (Liu et al., 2021). Rubbish categorization is a labor-intensive endeavor requiring top-down government backing and bottom-up community involvement. Residents who are part of a social network are more likely to have garbage classification intents and actions influenced by social capital. The issue of media taking the lead in garbage sorting has been in limbo ever since the government imposed the MSW policy. The research finds media to be part of the factor that affects Shanghai residents’ attitude’s toward sorting solid wastes.
Government perception
The government played a big role in avoiding waste siege, formulating detailed regulations for the classification of municipal solid waste, and technical and social policies, thus supporting provincial and urban environmental waste management, according to Yue et al. (2020). For future positive outcomes, Yue et al. (2020) recommend that the government carry out the following activities as a trash sorting propagandist educator: To begin, promote, and educate the public about the need to properly categorize household garbage. Create guidelines for rubbish collection and sorting as a second step. Renewed effort should be made to keep the classification facility in good working order (Yue et al., 2020). The government has to develop a system of accountability for garbage sorting, define managers, and make waste sorting more detailed and realistic. According to Anuardo et al. (2022), waste management has been a major government push to limit the environmental harm caused by human activities. Waste Management strives to extend the lifespan of goods and reduce the number of resources used. There are three sectors in the economy: organizations, government, and academics. Organizations provide products and services, while governments provide legal guarantees for the interactions and exchanges between the other two sectors. In 2019, Shanghai became the first Chinese city to pass a law governing the municipal solid waste collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal (MSW) (Anuardo et al., 2022). Publicity measures, includi...