Waste characterization is the first step to a successful waste management system. This paper explores the trend of solid waste generated on a university campus (Longzi Lake Campus of Henan Agricultural University) in China and the factors that influence the potential for recycling of the waste. Face-to-face interviews were carried out for 12 consecutive months on a campus in central China, and 416 interviewees were questioned. It was found that 7.32 tonnes of solid waste were generated on the campus each day, of which 79.31% were recyclable. The characterization of major waste streams are discussed, and the results are compared with comparable data from five universities in a range of other countries (Mexico, Canada, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Ethiopia). The annual growth of GDP per capita in China over the past five years before the research appeared to play an important role in the increasing of food waste on university campus, and the proportion of food waste is found to have a positive influence on recycling potential.

The need for effective solid waste management (SWM) is an important environmental and public health issue. As a key way of minimizing municipal solid waste (MSW), source separation has in recent years become the centre of discussion in China. Following the example of Shanghai, the city of Zhengzhou introduced its mandatory waste separation measures on 1 December 2019. But does the mandatory regulation work? This study aims to investigate the waste separation behaviour of college students in Zhengzhou under the mandatory regulation and the motivations behind students’ behaviour. A questionnaire-based survey was carried out on 62 university campuses in Zhengzhou City, and a total of 1747 valid questionnaires were completed across these campuses and analysed. It was found that under Zhengzhou’s mandatory measures, college students do have a basic knowledge of waste separation and most are familiar with where kitchen waste should be placed, but they have problems categorizing some recyclables such as glass, hazardous waste such as lightbulbs and other waste such as cigarette butts and napkins. It was also found that college students’ waste separation behaviour, their attitude towards waste separation and the convenience of waste sorting facilities in Zhengzhou in the mandatory era have been improved compared to the era prior to mandatory waste separation. The results also indicate that most of college students (86.7%) always or sometimes undertake waste separation, and students majoring in science and senior year undergraduates are more likely to participate in the practice of waste separation. Other influencing factors of college students’ waste separation behaviour include convenience of waste sorting facilities, their willingness to separate waste, knowledge of a related field, attitude towards waste separation, peer pressure as well as the existence of a reward and penalty system. Management strategies for improving college students’ waste separation behaviour under mandatory regulation are also discusses and a number of recommendations for improvement are made.

China’s quick economic recovery from COVID-19 has presented a narrow but vast opportunity to build an economy that is cleaner, fairer, and safer. Will China grab this opportunity? The answer rests with both business managers and the government. Based on a questionnaire survey of 1160 owners and managers of companies headquartered in 32 regions of China and covering 30 industries, this paper explores how COVID-19 has impacted Chinese business, especially with regard to the three dimensions of sustainability (economic, social, and environmental). The results suggest that Chinese companies’ sustainability priorities have been shifted towards the social dimension both during COVID-19 and into the post-pandemic phase, regardless of the type of ownership, company size, or market focus (domestic, overseas, or mixture of the two). However, all types of company prioritize the need for economic sustainability in the post-pandemic phase and in relative terms the importance of the environmental dimension has been diminished. Hence the potential for a post-pandemic environmental rebound effect in China is clear. But it does not have to be the case if Chinese businesses and the government take actions to change its recovery plans to embrace the environmental dimension of sustainability. The paper puts forward some suggestions and recommendations for businesses and the government.

The green transformation of energy-intensive firms is expected to make an outstanding contribution to global carbon neutrality. Digital intelligence, the new phase of digitalization, has injected fresh momentum into corporate green development. Most previous studies focused on the green effect of digitalization using statistical data from listed firms, and failed to make detailed exploration on the impact of digital intelligence on energy-intensive firms’ green transformation based on survey data. Based on empowerment theory and technology-organization-environment theory, this study proposed a three-dimensional concept of digital intelligence, including digital intelligence technology, digital intelligence organization and digital intelligence environment. Using survey data from 348 energy-intensive firms in China, this paper employed the structural equation modeling and bootstrap test to investigate the influence of digital intelligence on energy efficiency transformation and green emission transformation, and the mediating effect of energy management. The results indicate that digital intelligence technology, digital intelligence organization and digital intelligence environment promote energy efficiency and green emission of energy-intensive firms. Energy management is the key to the green transformation of energy-intensive firms in the context of digital intelligence. Specifically, energy saving literacy, energy audit, and energy use structure optimization play the positive mediating effects between digital intelligence and energy-intensive firms’ green transformation. It is worth noting that the mediating effect of energy saving literacy between digital intelligence environment and energy-intensive firms’ green transformation is insignificant. These findings provide policy and practice references for the government and practitioners in energy-intensive industries to leverage digital intelligence to promote green sustainability.

To alleviate the plight of municipal solid waste management, penalties were implemented in China. However, it is unclear how penalty affects residents’ waste separation behavior. This study aims to analyze the impact of penalty on residents’ waste separation behavior and the role of personal norms and trust in authorities. A theoretical model of the impact of penalty on residents’ waste separation behavior was established based on deterrence theory and normative activation model. Using online survey data from 628 respondents in Zhengzhou, China, an empirical analysis was performed by employing the moderated mediation model. The results showed that residents’ perceived penalty certainty and penalty severity positively influenced their waste separation behavior through the mediation effect of personal norm. Penalty certainty had a direct impact on waste separation behavior, whereas penalty severity had no direct impact on waste separation behavior. Trust in authorities positively moderated the mediation effect of personal norm. The higher the trust in authorities, the stronger mediating effect of personal norm. Some recommendations were proposed to improve residents’ waste separation behavior under the mandatory policy. This paper presents a new perspective and theoretical guidelines for the local government to improve residents’ waste separation behaviors in China and offers useful insights into waste separation management for other countries.

To promote residents’ waste separation behavior, waste separation supervision has been a crucial need. This paper aims to explore the supervision mechanism of residents’ waste separation behavior using a tripartite evolutionary game model. The evolutionary stability conditions of resident, property service enterprise, and the government were analyzed. The influences of the main parameters on the strategy of three stakeholders were explored through numerical simulation. The results show that the regulatory mechanism of waste separation will reach the optimal stable strategy when the following conditions are satisfied: (1) the penalty for nonclassification is higher than the difference between classification cost and the total benefit of classification; (2) the subsidy to property services enterprise is greater than the total cost of positive participation management. Residents’ behaviors are mainly influenced by rewards and punishments. The behavioral strategies of property service companies are more sensitive to subsidies than penalties. In the early stage of mandatory waste separation, it is important to reduce the cost of residents’ separation, develop the publics’ environmental awareness, and increase the willingness of properties to participate in management. This paper presents a new perspective and theoretical guidelines for the local government and communities to supervise residents’ waste separation behaviors in China and other developing countries and offers useful insights into waste separation management for other countries.