Willingness to Pay for Domestic Waste of Rural Households Under Low-Carbon Society Transition: A Case Study of Underdeveloped Mountainous Areas in Shaanxi, China

A low-carbon society aims to achieve sustainable social development through innovative technologies and mechanisms, promoting low-carbon economic models and lifestyles. In light of China’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality and transitioning to a low-carbon society, it is crucial to control waste generation at its source, as the waste management sector is highly polluting and contributes substantially to carbon emissions. Adopting the 3R (reduce, reuse, and recycle) approach, reducing the quantity of waste is the priority in waste management. Therefore, exploring rural residents’ willingness to adopt the “pay as you throw” (PAYT) policy in underdeveloped mountainous areas and the factors influencing this willingness is highly valuable. This paper adopts the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) with a face-to-face questionnaire survey, involving 1429 farmers from six cities around the underdeveloped mountainous area in Northwestern China. It measures their willingness to pay (WTP) and preferred payment levels for the PAYT policy. Based on the theory of planned behavior, the paper finds that farmers’ environmental knowledge, environmental awareness and social trust positively influence their WTP, while farmers’ perception of pollution and daily waste disposal do not significantly impact their WTP. Additionally, social trust negatively moderates the relationship between environmental knowledge and WTP. This paper provides empirical results that can support the implementation of a nationwide waste fee management system and the promotion of volume-based waste fee management. It also offers targeted suggestions for the government to establish PAYT and improve the efficiency of rural household waste management in rural China.