Farmers’ Willingness to Pay for the Recycling of Household Kitchen Waste: Evidence from Guanzhong Area of Shaanxi Province, China

Abstract

Recycling of household kitchen waste (RHKW) is the key to realize rural resource recycling and environmental governance. However, farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) has not received widespread attention. Utilizing the survey data of farmers in Guanzhong area of Shaanxi Province in 2019, this study analyzes the impact of social capital on farmers' WTP for RHKW by using a binary logistic model. The results show that: (1) farmers' average WTP value for RHKW is $1.52 (10.51 CNY) per household per month; (2) interpersonal trust, institutional trust, and class identity in social capital can significantly stimulate farmers' WTP for RHKW; (3) outdoor work experience, small household size, high agriculture net income, a large output of household kitchen waste, strong environmental consciousness and moral concepts are factors that increase WTP for RHKW. Based on this, it is suggested that a close-knit rural social environment be built and various kinds of thematic education activities be organized to give full play to the incentive role of social capital and accelerate the improvement of rural human settlements.