Public acceptance towards plastic waste-to-energy gasification projects: The role of social trust and health consciousness

Public acceptance plays an essential role in successfully constructing and operating innovative and evolving technologies that promote ecological sustainability and pollution reduction. The present study investigates the factors influencing public acceptance of plastic waste-to-energy gasification projects. The research added social trust and health consciousness to the theory of planned behavior. Using the structural equation modeling, 513 valid survey questionnaire responses from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, China, were analyzed. The most notable results reveal that attitude, social norms, and perceived behavioral control have a major impact on the public acceptability of the initiative. There was no correlation between social trust and public support for the project. Social trust affects public acceptance of the project through attitude. Health consciousness was shown to be favorably connected with public approval of the project both directly and indirectly through attitude. This study serves policymakers and stakeholders with robust policy recommendations to promote public acceptance of plastic waste-to-energy gasification schemes and other hazardous facilities.