Investigating the determinants of recycling behaviour in Malta

The purpose of this paper is to explore different factors of recycling behaviour with evidence from Malta in order to determine which of these factors emerge as significant predictors of the recycling participation of Maltese residents.

For this study, the recycling behaviour of 400 Maltese residents selected at random from the e‐Electoral Register for general elections and local councils was investigated. A behavioural framework was adopted and the questionnaire used incorporates elements from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the Model of Altruistic Behaviour (MAB) as well as other determinants of recycling behaviour (e.g. inconveniences and demographic variables). The participants had the option of answering the questionnaire by telephone or via an online survey which was e‐mailed directly to the participants.

The study shows that nine factors – “personal recycling attitudes, norms and skills”, “satisfaction with service provided”, “inconveniences”, “awareness of consequences”, “knowledge of issues”, “social recycling attitudes and norms”, “motivating factors”, “intentions to act” and “scheme preference” – account for 68.5 per cent of the variability in the recycling behaviour of Maltese residents. Additionally, the first three factors highlighted above emerged as significant predictors of recycling participation and together accounted for 48.5 per cent of the variability in recycling participation. In the light of the findings, the issue of adopting a corporate communications programme emerges as a possible strategy aimed at putting mandatory EU recycling targets for Malta back on track.

This study provides empirical evidence from Malta that the incorporation of elements from the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the Model of Altruistic Behaviour as well as other additional variables (e.g. situational factors and demographic factors) makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the recycling behaviour and the recycling participation of Maltese residents.