Identifying the Predictors of Community Acceptance of Waste Incineration Plants in Urban China: A Qualitative Analysis from a Public Perspective

Abstract

Due to concerns about consequences to public health, the ecosystem, the natural landscape etc., the planning and construction of waste incineration plants always gives rise to a reaction and even protests from local communities. This study aims to investigate the determinants affecting public acceptance of waste incinerators. We contribute to the existing knowledge in the following ways: (1) this study undertook a qualitative analysis on community acceptance of nimby facilities in the context of China for the first time; (2) through qualitative interview analysis, we emphasize the impact of interactions among multiple factors regarding the acceptance of waste incinerators; (3) we finally construct a framework to systematically explain the formation mechanism of community acceptance of waste incineration plants. Employing in-depth interviews with 22 representative residents, the results indicate that from the perspective of externality, risk perception has a significant negative impact, whereas the effects of benefit perception are positive. In terms of interaction between government and citizen, both justice perception and political efficacy are positive. Social situational factors positively promote community acceptance. Lastly, the impact of individual cognition is mixed. This study has the potential to make a significant difference in better community governance and environment-friendly cities.

The effect of distance on risk perception towards waste incineration plants: a comparison between local residents living within 0–3 km versus 3–8 km in Dongguan, Southern China

“…A qualitative study in China found positive views between governments and citizens and the importance of perceived justice and political efficacy. WIPs are usually opposed by the public as they are perceived to be NIMBY facilities but this qualitative study did not test the hypothesis of distance because all respondents were the residents near WIPs (Zhang et al 2021). A study in northern China also found that trust towards WIPs among the residents living in the vicinity of WIPs was a significant factor influencing residents' perceptions (Huang et al 2022).…”

Perceptional differences in the factors of local acceptance of waste incineration plant

“…These statements cover a variety of categories and sub-categories representing perceptions on waste incineration plants: risk perception, interest, justice (procedural justice, interactive justice, distributive justice); political efficiency; social trust (local government trust, waste incineration plant trust); place attachment; and knowledge level. The Q-set employed in this study represents the theoretical and practical foundation ( Zhang, 2021 ). The specific items of the Q statements are shown in Table 1 .…”

Study on the path toward solutions for NIMBYism in China: A case study based on the qualitative comparative analysis method

“…For China, NIMBYism was widely known to the public after the beginning of the 21st century. One piece of statistical data shows that complaints about environmental issues increased by 29% every year since 1996 in China [ 23 ]. The emergence of the anti-growth alliance in China can be attributed to several factors.…”