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Behavior evolution of multiple stakeholders in the urban packaging waste recycling industry of China

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Abstract

Based on the analysis of China's urban packaging waste recycling system and the current situation, it is necessary to further explore the evolutionary scenarios of stakeholders' behavior in recycling packaging waste and the structural characteristics of the recycling system. This paper establishes a tripartite evolutionary game model involving the government, waste recyclers and urban residents, and simulates the behaviors of different subjects with numerical calculations. The results show that weak government regulation and strong participation of recyclers and residents are the evolutionary stable state of the packaging waste recycling process. The initial behavioral choices of different recycling participants can influence the evolutionary path. At the early stage, strengthening behavioral management and guidance for recyclers and residents can help enhance their participation. When government management obtains results, the management and supervision can be gradually reduced, and the leading role of recyclers in the recycling process can be played. The penalty level and subsidy rate set by the government will influence the evolution path and speed, and the motivation of stakeholders will affect the effect of recycling.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the R&D Program of Beijing Municipal Education Commission (SM202310005008), the Key R&D Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2018YFC1902700, 2022YFC3902605), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (72174015).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Materials and Manufacturing, Beijing University of Technology, No. 100, Pingle Garden, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China

    Zheng Zhang, Xianzhong Mu, Guangwen Hu, Liang Xie & Zhiguang Tian

  2. Institute of Circular Economy, Beijing University of Technology, No. 100, Pingle Garden, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China

    Zheng Zhang, Xianzhong Mu, Guangwen Hu, Liang Xie & Zhiguang Tian

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Zhang, Z., Mu, X., Hu, G. et al. Behavior evolution of multiple stakeholders in the urban packaging waste recycling industry of China. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 26, 266–282 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-023-01820-7

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