Investigating Residents’ Acceptance of Mobile Apps for Household Recycling: A Case Study of New Jersey

Abstract

Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have created new opportunities to deliver recycling education. This study employs the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology-2 (UTAUT-2) to examine primary factors impacting U.S. residents’ intention to use recycling mobile applications. Uniquely, the research interrogates whether ICT adoption can increase the intention to recycle household waste and thus generate social change. The data, from an online survey of 1215 app users located in New Jersey, is analyzed using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Results demonstrate that performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, and habit, have a positive and significant effect on the intention to use recycling apps. The intention to use apps also has a positive and significant effect on the intention to recycle. The results support the use of ICTs as a tool for building recycling habits. Recommendations for solid waste management practitioners, and app developers, are also discussed.