Sustainable single-use plastic waste management among laboratory users using theory of planned behaviour

Plastic waste from single-use laboratory consumables represents a significant environmental concern, particularly within scientific research settings where such materials are indispensable. This study aimed to explore the determinants of sustainable single-use plastic waste management behaviour among laboratory users in Malaysia, employing an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) framework. This study integrated environmental awareness alongside attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control (PBC) to predict behavioural intention and behaviours, with the presence of a sustainable waste management protocol as a control variable. A cross-sectional survey design was conducted to gather data from 245 active laboratory users through an online questionnaire. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed for data analysis. The findings reveal that attitude, PBC, and environmental awareness significantly predicted behavioural intention, with PBC emerging as the strongest predictor. Contrary to expectations, subjective norms did not exhibit a significant relationship with behavioural intention. Additionally, both behavioural intention and PBC positively predicted sustainable waste management behaviours. The findings contribute to the growing discourse on sustainable laboratory practices and provide actionable recommendations for policy and organisational initiatives aimed at reducing single-use plastic waste in laboratories.