Identifying Barriers and Enablers and Co-Designing Behavioural Interventions to Promote Recycling of Plastic Waste in Indonesia

Plastic waste remains a significant environmental challenge in Indonesia, polluting the environment and posing a threat to human health. In response, Indonesian authorities have sought to promote household recycling of plastic waste through regulations and educational campaigns; however, engagement remains low. Previous evidence shows that the use of behaviour change theory to promote recycling in Indonesia remains limited. Therefore, this thesis aimed to (i) explore barriers and enablers of recycling plastic waste and (ii) design interventions to improve household recycling using the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) framework.
To achieve these aims, two empirical studies used the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation and Behaviour (COM-B) model (Study 1-Chapter 2) and the Theoretical Domain Framework (TDF) (Study 2-Chapter 3) to explore the barriers and enablers to recycling plastic waste in Indonesian households. Study 1 involved an online survey with Indonesian residents (n = 234). Study 2 comprised eight focus groups (n = 42) to gather a more in-depth understanding of factors influencing recycling. Study 1 found that of the six COM-B predictors, only automatic motivation (e.g., habit) significantly predicted recycling. However, thematic analysis in Study 2 identified a broader range of enablers and barriers, including physical opportunity, reflective motivation, and psychological capability.
Using these findings, Study 3 (Chapter 4) conducted a BCW-guided co-design workshop with a range of stakeholders in Indonesia to develop possible interventions to address the identified barriers in Study 1 and 2. The workshop proposed a set of interventions to improve recycling of plastic waste, targeting individuals/households (household-level) and infrastructure barriers (system-level). A prospective acceptability evaluation of the proposed intervention was conducted. A prospective acceptability evaluation found that participants mainly reported high acceptability across measured constructs. Taken together, this thesis extends previous literature on the use of the BCW framework in sustainable behaviour, particularly implementing this framework in the Indonesian context.