Identifying the status and differences between urban and rural residents' behaviors and attitudes toward express packaging waste management in Guangdong Province, China

With the rapid development of the express delivery industry, the environmental issues of express packaging waste (EPW) have gradually attracted public attention worldwide. As important participants, consumers' behaviors and attitudes will play a vital role in solving the problem. This study uses the conditional value method (CVM) to evaluate the differences in the attitudes and willingness to pay of urban and rural residents toward EPW in Guangdong Province, China. The results show that the respondents have limited knowledge of the recycling situation, relevant policies and environmental impacts of express delivery packaging, although more than 60% of respondents do think that there is a problem with excessive packaging. The low recycling rate for packaging materials is mainly attributed to the lack of recycling facilities and publicity on environmental issues. The differences between urban and rural residents are mainly over disposal methods, the views on excessive packaging and willingness to pay (WTP) for EPW. Finally, the WTP values of urban and rural residents choosing a “deposit” system are 1.58 ($0.24) and 1.79 yuan ($0.28) per piece, respectively, while the WTP values (for increased fees) are 0.64 yuan ($0.10) and 0.60 yuan ($0.09) per piece, respectively. The obtained results may serve as a reference for different regional responses to the promotion and improvement of EPW management in the future.