ORIGINAL RESEARCH
How Waste Sorting Has Been Implemented
in Urban Villages in China. A Co-Production
Theory Perspective
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1
Department of Public Administration, Jiangsu Administration Institute, 210002, Nanjing, China
2
College of Social Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
Submission date: 2023-05-06
Final revision date: 2023-09-20
Acceptance date: 2023-11-03
Online publication date: 2024-01-12
Publication date: 2024-02-28
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2024;33(3):2345-2357
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ABSTRACT
Waste sorting in urban villages is a less developed while important issue in waste management and
it is of great importance to environmental sustainability. China is now facing challenges of combating
waste sorting while little attention has been paid to these challenges in urban villages. This article aims
to add to this knowledge by examining how waste sorting has been implemented in urban villages via
a case study of Shenzhen, China. A co-production theory perspective is adopted to explore how actors
are engaged in the process of waste sorting and what are the results. The findings suggest coproduction
approach is neither a top-down nor bottom-up approach. It is a much more complex process that involves
intensive interactions between the government and residents. It concludes that the co-production
approach to waste sorting exemplified by urban villages’ sustainable development has great significance
for general environmental management and policy making in the long term.