Social acceptance and willingness to pay for a smart Eco-toilet system producing a Community-based bioenergy in Korea

Eom, Young Sook; Oh, Hyungna; Cho, Jaeweon; Kim, Jaai

doi:10.1016/j.seta.2021.101400

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 19 publications

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“…For example, an I/A system pilot on Cape Cod identified cost as the most significant factor influencing I/A adoption, stating that participating homeowners wanted systems that were “simple, affordable, reliable, and out-of-sight” ( Buzzards Bay Coalition, 2017 ). The same can be said about I/A system research efforts globally, which focus primarily on technical efficiency ( Gill et al, 2009 ; Otawa and Tabata, 2014 ; Gunady et al, 2015 ) and only seldomly consider the social and cognitive aspects of adoption, apart from global studies on the social acceptance of urine-diverting toilets ( Lamichhane and Babcock, 2013 ; Bing, 2014 ; Sook Eom et al, 2021 ). References to the social aspects of adopting these systems are surface level at best.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors in homeowners’ willingness to adopt nitrogen-reducing innovative/alternative septic systems

et al. 2023

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When environmental mitigation requires individual adoption, engagement approaches centered on cost effectiveness and technological efficiency alone are often insufficient. Through focus groups with adopters and prospective adopters, this research identifies factors influencing homeowners’ willingness to adopt Innovative/Alternative (I/A) septic systems for nitrogen reduction. We apply concepts from technology adoption and behavior change models as a framework for illustrating the homeowner decision-making process around I/A adoption. The perceived needs to replace an old/failing septic system, comply with local regulations, and protect local water quality synergistically catalyzed adoption. Adoption was further influenced by the larger context within which it is taking place, perceived characteristics of I/A systems and the installation process, system aesthetics concerns, and homeowners’ attitudes and beliefs. Considering how these factors affect adoption could enable resource managers to design more targeted interventions to encourage adoption through behavior change strategies such as social marketing, and to improve how these systems are communicated. If I/A systems are to be used as a tool to achieve water quality goals, the considerations influencing homeowners’ willingness to install these systems will be critical to incentivizing voluntary adoption. Many of these factors are relevant to the adoption of other individual-level environmental management strategies, which are being increasingly deployed in response to complex, nonpoint source pollution issues.

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