The sorting of domestic waste is the most effective way to alleviate the problem of mass garbage accumulation around the villages of rural China. Farmers are the creators of rural domestic waste as well as the direct beneficiaries of effective waste management. However, few studies have been conducted on the psychological determinants of farmers’ intentions to sort domestic waste. This paper applies planned behavior theory (TPB) and normative activation theory (NAM), to analyze the domestic waste sorting intentions of rural residents in Guanzhong, China. Based on the micro-data of 327 rural households in Guanzhong, structural equation models of the factors influencing farmers’ domestic waste sorting intentions were estimated. The results demonstrate the following. (1) Farmers’ attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and personal norms have significant positive direct impacts on their domestic waste sorting intentions, with personal norms having the greatest direct impact. (2) Subjective norms have no direct impact on farmers’ domestic waste sorting intentions but do have an indirect impact on them through personal norms, behavioral attitudes, and perceived behavior control. This article increases scholarly understanding of the psychosocial determinants of the environmentally friendly behavioral intention to sort domestic waste. The study also provides academic and theoretical support to policy makers in implementing relevant policy recommendations.

The construction of an ecologically livable rural environment requires treating rural domestic waste. Farmers, as key participants in rural domestic waste disposal, can improve the rural environment by disposing of domestic waste in an environmentally friendly manner. Few studies have examined the cadre–farmer relationship and its impact on rural waste pollution. Using a questionnaire survey of farmers in Shaanxi Province, China, this study estimates the effect of cadre–farmer relationship on their willingness to treat domestic waste. The findings indicate that a positive cadre–farmer relationship significantly increases farmers’ willingness to treat domestic waste. This positive relationship can also strengthen the positive effects of institutional rules on waste treatment willingness. Further mechanism analysis shows that a good cadre–farmer relationship mobilizes farmers to protect the environment and to comply with national ecological laws and regulations, enhancing their willingness to treat domestic waste. These findings enrich research on rural domestic waste management.

After the economy enters a “new normal” era in China, resource-based cities are under pressure in terms of transformation, upgrading and sustainable development. This paper uses the panel data of 33 resource-based cities from 2008 to 2018 to empirically analyze the impact of environmental regulation and innovation compensation on scientific and technological competitiveness. The results show that there is a positive U-shaped relation between environmental regulation and scientific and technological competitiveness. This means that when environmental regulations exceed a certain level, continuing to increase regulations will significantly enhance technological competitiveness, but most samples are still on the left side of the turning point. At the same time, the labor productivity and fiscal capacity of non-agricultural industries in the region may have a strong regulatory effect. In a region with higher labor productivity in non-agricultural industries or stronger local fiscal capacity, environmental regulation is more likely to reflect the attribute of “innovation compensation” and advance scientific and technological competitiveness. At this stage, we should optimize the trans-regional compensation mechanism for resource-rich regions, increase investment in pollution management and ecological protection and impose stricter admission standards on industrial projects. Besides, skilled laborers should be cultivated and innovation and entrepreneurship be supported to realize the green and sustainable development of resource-based cities in the new era.