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The purpose of this paper is to introduce the practice of service recycling. There is an end of life to every product. At this stage, recycling is one option: it is the process of converting waste materials into new products or raw materials. There is also an end of life to every service, which generally coincides with the end of service delivery. However, services are not made of materials or components that can be recovered or converted, so can they be recycled? If the concept of product recycling is something well established, then that of service recycling has not yet been sufficiently investigated.

This paper introduces the perspective of service recycling, analyzing the modalities in which a service can be recycled by using an analogy with natural ecosystems. Some examples are also proposed to support this new vision.

This paper purports to formalize the practice of service recycling: recycling a service means recovering all the intangibles and tangibles resulting from the provision of a service that still may have a residual value. This practice may potentially lead to an increase in profits.

Although there are several examples of close relationships between two (or more) different services in which one of the two benefits from the externalities of the other, the concept of service recycling has not yet been structurally defined, and the authors believe that interesting perspectives of research may follow from its formalization.

The purpose of this research is to propose a systematic and integrative approach for evaluating, assessing, analysing, and improving service quality and effectiveness.

A new approach is proposed, in which SERVQUAL and overall administration effectiveness (OAE) are integrated. The recycling pavilion service process of Isfahan municipality is examined. By distributing 120 questionnaires containing the 22 questions of the SERVQUAL instrument developed by Parasuraman et al. in four pavilions of four different regions of the city of Isfahan, the services quality gap was measured and the OAE indicator performance was calculated. In OAE, the quality ratio was measured based on the quality gap, and performance and availability ratios were measured based on the characteristics of the recycling pavilion services.

The empirical findings imply that the application of the proposed approach has resulted in a reduction of 0.59 of the gap average and a 36 per cent improvement of the OAE indicator.

While a general approach is proposed for service application, the results of the case study may not be generalisable.

The proposed approach of this study presents a method for simultaneous analysis of service quality and effectiveness.

The online direct selling mode has been widely accepted by enterprises in the O2O era. However, the dual-channel (online/offline, forward/backward) operations of the closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) changed the relationship between manufacturers and retailers, thus resulting in channel conflict. The purpose of this paper is to take a dual-channel operations of CLSC as the research target, where a manufacturer sells a single product through a direct e-channel as well as a conventional retail channel; the retailer are responsible for collecting used products in the reverse supply chain and the manufacturer are responsible for remanufacturing.

The authors build a benchmark model of dual-channel price and service competition and take the return rate, which is considered to be related to the service level of the retailer, as the function of the service level to extend the model in the reverse SC. The authors then analyze the optimal pricing and service decision under centralization and decentralization, respectively. Finally, with the revenue-sharing factor, wholesale price and recycling price transfer payment coefficient as contract parameters, the paper also designs a revenue-sharing contract led by the manufacturer and explores in what situation the contract could realize the Pareto optimization of all players.

In the baseline model, the results show that optimal price and service level correlate positively in centralization; however, the relation relies on consumers’ price sensitivity in decentralization. In the extension model, the relationship between price and service level also relies on the relative value of increased service cost and remanufacturing saved cost. When the return rate correlates with the service level, a recycling transfer payment can elevate the service level and thus raise the return rate. Through analyzing the parameters in revenue-sharing contract, a point can be reached where lowering the wholesale price and raising the transfer payment coefficient will promote retailers to share revenue.

Many enterprises establish the dual-channel distribution system both online and offline, which need to understand how to resolve their channel conflict. The conflict is especially strong in CLSC with remanufacturing. The result helps the node enterprises realize the coordination of the dual-channel CLSC.

It takes into account the fact that there are two complementary relationships, such as online selling and offline delivery; used product recycling and remanufacturing. The authors optimize the strategy of product pricing and service level in order to solve channel conflict and double marginalization in the closed-loop dual-channel distribution network.

This study aims to explore the state of environmental management accounting practice and the motivations for its use with a view to improving waste and recycling management by local government. The focus is on practice in local governments situated in the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Prior studies suggest the need for environmental management accounting as a supporting tool for waste management.

An exploratory case study method was applied in 12 NSW local government organisations. In each local government interviews were conducted with managers responsible for waste and recycling issues.

Contrary to prior research this study found that, in the local governments investigated, an increasing amount of environmental management accounting information is being made available. The case studies found two main motivations encouraging the development of environmental management accounting in local government: first, social structural influences, such as regulatory pressures from different environmental regulatory bodies, environmental expectations from local communities, and pressures from peer councils; second, organisational contextual influences reflecting situational needs in the organisational contexts, such as complex waste operations and service designs, changes and uncertainties in waste and recycling management, and the council's strategic position for waste management.

The results imply that institutional theory and contingency theory provide different but complementary explanations for the development of environmental management accounting in waste management. Although previous environmental studies are overwhelmingly in favour of social system‐based theories, such as institutional theory, to explain environmental changes in organisations, an organisation's contextual dynamics seem to be equally important.

The findings about motivations provide useful information for environmental strategists and government regulators to make policies that improve accountability and the efficiency of waste and recycling management as well as promote future development of environmental management accounting to support sustainable waste management solutions.

This paper is a case study which explores the impact of a variety of communication tools and the way in which they influence the recycling behaviour of residents in Rushcliffe Borough Council. Despite the fact that household waste is growing at a significant rate, very little empirical research has been conducted to explore the role that effective corporate communications can play in influencing attitude change and recycling behaviour or to determine which communication tools are considered to be most effective by local residents. The research reported is longitudinal involving three large‐scale surveys assessing attitudes to current refuse collection, the recycling service and the effectiveness of the various communication tools used. Results are presented together with recommendations for improving the effectiveness of any council's corporate communications strategy for increasing recycling rates.

Sharjah is the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) third largest city and third highest waste producer (9.9% of ˜26 million in 2012). A total of about ˜$1bn has been invested into programs pursuing zero-landfill waste by 100% recycling. Besides infrastructure, assessing knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) are needed for effective waste management. The purpose of this study is to examine recycling KAP in Sharjah.

A cross-sectional study, using pilot-tested questionnaires, was conducted among public venues during March and April 2016. A total of 400 residents (18–55 years) were selected via convenience sampling. SPSS-22 was used for analysis.

Mean age [28 years (±9.4)] with 56.5% females. Knowledge level [51.8% (±18.1)]; students reported the highest (53.7%, p = 0.007, 95% CI [51.4–56.1]). 22.9% knew recycling benefits, 31.2% knew how to correctly prepare items. Attitude level 92.6% (±16.5); 51.1% and 46.8% would recycle more with a financial reward or penalty, respectively. 70.4% reported practicing recycling; 16.0% always recycle. Logistic regression model indicated knowledge (OR = 1.013, 95% CI [1.001–1.025]) and attitude (OR = 1.014, 95% CI [1.001–1.028]) as the only significant predictors of recycling practice.

This is the first study measuring recycling KAP in the UAE. Results could be starting points for improved local waste management and subsequently reduced public health concerns.

With the rapid increase in the consumption of electrical and electronic innovations, responsible management and recycling of electronic waste (e-waste) or waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has been a significant concern for the governments, stakeholders, researchers and industry practitioners around the world. Consumer awareness, disposal behaviour and perception are chief facets of designing sustainable management strategies. Although researchers have widely studied e-waste over many years, the research focusing on consumer awareness about e-waste recycling has gained momentum recently. This paper aims to systematise the existing literature and explore future research prospects on household e-waste sorting behaviour.

Web of science (WoS) core collection was searched using selected keywords to identify relevant articles published from 2001 to 2021. The search resulted in 1,156 research articles published from 2001 to 2021. After a detailed study, 85 articles were shortlisted for in-depth review. The review was conducted based on global trends, top journals, most prolific authors, most active e-waste research countries, and institutions centring on consumer participation in e-waste disposal and recycling behaviour. The present research has also identified around eleven factors that seem to have a bearing on consumer behaviour towards storage, disposal and recycling of e-waste.

E-waste research has gained increased attention in the last five years. The majority of the studies has focused on motivational factors and ignore the risks associated with handling e-waste. The present study reports the pertinent issue of lack of awareness among the masses about e-waste handling and disposal. Thus, bringing to the fore the lack of awareness programmes and initiatives. The analysis presents the gaps in the literature and future research agendas.

The review article will help in providing an in-depth understanding of consumer behaviour towards storage, disposal and recycling of e-waste and delineates the future direction of research that may be undertaken in this field of study.

Circular economy firms, unlike those in a linear economy, encounter significant challenges due to the nature of nonstandardized products, such as asymmetric information on product specifications and highly dispersed supply and demand. Consequently, achieving large-scale operations becomes inherently difficult for them. However, when digital platform-based circular firms adopt diversified business models, their value creation has the potential to achieve significant scale. This study aims to answer “How do digital platform-based circular firms scale up value creation through business model diversification?”.

The authors use a qualitative case study design with a longitudinal (2011–2023) analysis of the various business models developed by ATRenew, a leading firm in the Chinese preowned electronics industry.

The authors find that the recycling business model can act as a “cornerstone” business model for a circular firm to integrate the business model portfolio by leveraging the most synergies (or complementarities) with other business models. Besides, digital platform-based circular firms can effectively scale up value creation by leveraging capability complementary on the supply side, through establishing industrial infrastructure shared with the platform ecosystem; and by leveraging customer complementary on the demand side, through activating the dual role played by platform users as suppliers and consumers.

The authors contribute to the circular business models literature with three mechanisms to scale up circular value creation through business model diversification and advance a set of propositions to be tested in future research. This also has important practical implications for circular economy platform businesses.

The chapter aims to evaluate the efficacy of stakeholder participation in the solid waste management system of Mauritius in view of providing a possible mechanism to attain the goals of a sustainable waste management framework.

The study employs qualitative indicators, namely, User Inclusivity and Producer Inclusivity of the Wasteaware Benchmark Indicators. Secondary data are used to conduct a critical and comprehensive analysis of the sub-indicators falling under each of the two main indicators to determine the overall compliance level with respect to stakeholder engagement of the waste management sector of Mauritius.

The results of the study show a LOW/MEDIUM compliance level for both User Inclusivity and Provider Inclusivity indicators, which indicates that improvement is required in the stakeholder engagement mechanism in Mauritius. The main weaknesses identified comprise of lack of an adequate legal framework with clear definition of waste types with regards to segregation, especially for non-hazardous wastes, low efficiency of sustainable waste management awareness campaigns and lack of inclusion of the informal sector. The main strengths identified consist of a proper bidding mechanism in place and a good level of equity in the provision of waste management services with respect to comingled waste collection. Suggested improvement areas include a revamping of the existing legal framework related to waste management to cater for higher inclusivity of all stakeholders together with including sustainable waste management topics in the formal education curriculum.

The User Inclusivity and Producer Inclusivity indicators were previously applied only to cities to measure the level of stakeholder participation, but this study has demonstrated that these indicators can also be adopted on a nation-wide level to evaluate stakeholder engagement. The use of these indicators together with secondary data presents a less time-consuming method to assess stakeholder participation in the waste sector, which can be particularly useful for Small Island Developing States.

This paper aims to explore the effect of fairness concerns on supply chain members' optimal decisions and profits, to compare their profits under different policies, and to investigate the impact of each policy on members, consumers, and the environment with fairness concerns.

Considering government policies and fairness concerns in recycling management, this paper develops five recycling and remanufacturing decision models (anarchy policy model, reward-penalty mechanism model, recycling investment subsidies model, government tax model, and fund subsidy system model). In each model, the manufacturer and the online platform form the Stackelberg game. This research further discusses comprehensive environmental benefits and consumer surplus under five scenarios.

First, the fairness concerns of the online platform inhibit the recovery rate and supply chain members' profit while increasing the platform's utility. Second, fairness concerns increase the profit gap between the manufacturer and online platform, and the higher the degree of fairness concerns, the greater the profit gap; however, the four policies reduce the profit gap. Finally, when there are fairness concerns, environmental taxes damage the interests of supply chain members and consumers, but are most beneficial to the environment; recycling investment subsidies are on the contrary; the fund subsidy system depends on the relative size of the treatment fund and the subsidy fund.

This paper provides useful insights on how to regulate government policy to improve supply chain management with fairness concerns.