Explanation of Household Recycling Barriers Through Interruptive Structural Modeling (ISM) in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia

Solid waste management is a major concern for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The rapid urban development and the accelerating population growth have made solid waste management a sincere challenge. Globally, recycling has proved to be efficient in managing solid waste. Recycling reduces the amount of waste dumped in landfills, offers a cheap source of raw materials, and aids in sustaining the environment. Household recycling is sadly not widely adopted in Saudi Arabia Eastern Province. The participation rate of the public in the Eastern Province in recycling activities is still limited. This research aims to investigate the barriers to household recycling and to provide insights into the potential causes of low local population engagement in local recycling programs. A survey was used to collect raw data. The barriers were rated, and the overall score for each barrier was assessed using the relative importance index (RII). The results show that the two most crucial household recycling barriers are the lack of official recycling programs (84.5% RII) and insufficient recycling bins (84.1% RII). An ISM model of the barriers is also developed to explore the interrelationships among barriers at a deeper level. The ISM model suggests that, in addition to the above two barriers, the lack of convenient infrastructure, inefficient curbside collection, and lack of incentives/penalties are the additional barriers driving the public away from recycling. This work should present a road map for the local authorities to initiate vital recycling initiatives capable of attracting public attention to the importance of recycling.