Preventing illegal dumping of construction waste in Hong Kong : a situational crime prevention approach

Abstract

Illegal dumping, also known as illegal or unauthorized waste disposal, refers to the abandonment of waste using unlawful means, e.g., disposing waste in non-designated areas. Illegal dumping has long been a global issue, and Hong Kong has no exception. Contributing to around 4% of Hong Kong’s annual GDP, the construction industry generates a prohibitive amount of waste. Construction waste not only accounts for about one-quarter of Hong Kong’s landfilled waste, but also has long been a predominant type of fly-tipped waste. Despite various statutory and non-statutory interventions are being adopted to combat the issue, illegal dumping continues to persist. This study aims to explore the causes of illegal construction waste disposal from a new perspective, with a view to advising more effective interventions to combat this persistent issue in Hong Kong.

A mixed method approach was employed to explore the dynamics of factors contributing to illegal dumping. The research adopted the Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) theory as the theoretical foundation, and integrated the opportunity of illegal dumping and the specific causal factors into a conceptual model. It began with a preliminary study comprising direct observation and exploratory interviews to comprehend the context surrounding the occurrence of illegal dumping (i.e., Objective 1). Thereafter, a questionnaire survey was conducted to test the hypothesized relationships in the conceptual model using Exploratory Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling and Multi-group Analysis (i.e., Objectives 2 and 3). The survey also explored certain phenomenon concerning the industrial context through descriptive statistics. Supplementary interviews were conducted with some survey respondents. Finally, policy recommendations were drawn based on the findings (i.e., Objective 4).

This study yields four major findings. Firstly, three out of five cost-benefit dimensions (i.e., effort, risk, and excuse) exerted significant influence on the opportunity of illegal dumping. Secondly, the specific causal factors significantly affecting each cost-benefit dimension (i.e., availability of easy targets negatively influencing perceived efforts, formal and natural surveillance being positively related to perceived risks, conscience being negatively related to the availability of excuses, availability of frustrating events and undesirable imitation being positively related to provocations) were identified. Thirdly, except the anticipated benefit dimension, the remaining four dimensions (i.e., effort, risk, excuse and provocation) either partially or fully mediate the indirect effects of their specific causal factors on the opportunity of illegal dumping. Finally, the cost-benefit dimensions may work differently among different groups of industry players (i.e., construction versus waste hauling, management versus non-managerial, affiliated versus unaffiliated with industrial associations). For instance, the effect of formal surveillance on perceived risks is stronger in the construction group, whereas natural surveillance works better in the waste hauling group.

Being the first study extending the SCP theory, a criminological concept initially developed for preventing conventional crimes, to the context of illegal dumping using a quantitative approach, this research enriches the understanding of the (1) causes of illegal dumping from the perspectives of frontline industry players from both the construction and waste hauling sectors who were prone to engage in such behavior, and (2) indirect causes of unauthorized disposal through exploring the mediating roles played by each cost-benefit dimension in the indirect relationships between their specific causal factors and the opportunity of illegal dumping. This study also yields two major practical implications, including: (1) providing empirical support for the approach of developing measures against a specific urban issue through first uncovering the direct and/or indirect causal factors; and (2) demonstrating the importance of applying targeted measures to different groups of potential offenders based on their characteristics (i.e., job nature, position and affiliation with industrial associations). Premised on the specific context of Hong Kong, this study’s policy recommendations may not be readily generalizable to other regions. Future studies are recommended to apply the SCP framework to explore the factors influencing illegal dumping in other regions with different industrial and institutional settings.