ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Environmental Psychology
Factors Influencing Recycled Materials Using in the Construction Industry in China: An Application of the Extended Theory of Planned Behaviour
Provisionally accepted
Yidan Zhu1,2*
CHENXI ZHAO1,3- 1Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
- 2PhD Student, Penang, Malaysia
- 3Student, Penang, Malaysia
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Waste from the construction sector is a significant component of the global waste composition of many continents. There is a lack of research on the attitude and behaviour of workers towards recycling. Although changing workers' attitudes and behaviours toward recycling in attaining sustainable waste management in the construction industry is a tall order, it is crucial to identify. So, the aim of this study is to comprehensively understand workers' psychology by emphasizing new factors that can measure their intention to recycle and recycling behaviour using the extended Theory of Planned Behaviour. This study selects workers of the construction industry of China to assess their recycling behaviour by testing the relationships among the proposed study model variables. Past research based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) seldom offers new determinants, such as consequences/Outcomes of Recycling (COR), or investigates demographic factors (age, experience, and gender). This leaves a gap in comprehending the psychological and contextual frames behind recycling in the construction industry. A total of 359 respondents, including Chinese workers, were surveyed and returned the data for further analysis using SPSS and AMOS. The statistical techniques employed are the confirmatory factor analysis. The findings of this study revealed that attitude, perceived behavioural control, and consequences of recycling significantly influenced intention to recycle and recycling behaviour among the construction workers. Notably, subjective norms and past recycling behavior were not significant predictors. Moreover, age and experience also significantly influenced the recycling behaviour, while gender did not. The study's main contribution lies in extending the TPB framework within the context of the Chinese construction industry, introducing and validating new determinants (COR, CS) that provide a deeper psychological understanding of recycling behaviour. Practically, the results prioritize critical elements for stakeholders, suggesting that managerial and policy interventions should focus on cultivating positive attitudes, enhancing perceived control through infrastructure and support, and leveraging outcome awareness, particularly among younger and less experienced workers, to bridge the implementation gap in construction waste recycling.
Keywords: Use of Recycled Material, Intention to Recycle, Recycling behaviour, Theory of Planned Behaviour, Construction Industry of China
Received: 22 Jul 2025; Accepted: 21 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhu and ZHAO. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yidan Zhu, zhuyidan@student.usm.my
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