Application of theory of planned behaviour to households’ source separation behaviour in Ghana

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that encourage households’ source separation behaviour in Accra and Tamale Metropolises in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach Using a cross-sectional design, 855 households of Ghana were interviewed based on the theoretical framework of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). The ordered probit regression model was employed to examine the factors that influence households’ source separation intention. Findings The results indicated that educational attainment of head of household, total income of household, occupation type of household head, information, past experience with source separation, inconvenience in terms of time, space and availability of formal source separation scheme, attitude, subjective norm and the location of the respondents significantly predicted households’ solid waste separation intentions. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional design does not determine causality but an association. Thus, future studies should examine actual household waste separation behaviour by using the experimental design to test the TPB model. Practical implications To promote solid waste separation at source, the public should be educated and provided with solid waste separation schemes that are efficient and compatible with households’ preference. Originality/value This study was partly motivated by the fact that despite the benefits associated with source separation, little attention has been given to formal source separation in Ghana. Moreover, there are limited studies on source separation behaviour in Ghana using the TPB as the theoretical framework.