From Beliefs to Action: Structural Pathways Influencing Household Waste Sorting Behavior in Pontianak City, Indonesia
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Household waste sorting is a critical behavioral component of sustainable urban waste management; however, its adoption often depends on complex interactions among beliefs, perceptions, social influences, and individual intentions. This study examines the structural pathways through which social, psychological, and environmental factors influence household waste sorting behavior in Pontianak Kota District, Indonesia. Grounded in an Extended Theory of Planned Behavior framework, this study employed a quantitative explanatory design involving 395 household respondents. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling–Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) with bootstrapping to assess the significance of structural relationships. The findings show that intention is the strongest direct predictor of household waste sorting behavior, with a path coefficient of 0.775 and a T-statistic of 33.613. Behavioral beliefs significantly influenced both perception and attitude, while normative beliefs strongly shaped social norms. Social norms, perception, and attitude were also found to significantly influence intention, indicating that household waste sorting behavior emerges through interconnected cognitive and social pathways. Knowledge significantly influenced attitude but did not directly strengthen intention, suggesting that information-based interventions alone may be insufficient without motivational and social reinforcement. These findings highlight the importance of transforming beliefs into positive attitudes, perceived benefits, supportive norms, and strong behavioral intentions. The study contributes to the pro-environmental behavior literature by clarifying how belief-based constructs translate into household waste sorting actions within an urban Indonesian context.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Muhammad Sami Al Haddad, Rukmini A.R , Silviani Silviani , Radjali Amin , Agus Suyanto
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