Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Empowering Recycling Activities at Home among Women in Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia

The rapid escalation of global waste generation, projected to increase by 70% by 2050, underscores the pressing need for sustainable waste management in developing countries such as Malaysia. Despite numerous recycling campaigns, household participation remains limited, reflecting underlying behavioural and social barriers. Women, as primary household managers, play a crucial role in influencing waste management practices. This study presents a novel integrative framework that combines the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) model, the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), and ecofeminist theory to investigate women’s empowerment in household recycling—a perspective largely absent in Malaysian environmental research. Adopting a quantitative design, data were collected from 100 women in Seri Kembangan, Selangor, using a structured 84-item questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, normality tests, and one-way ANOVA were applied. Education level significantly influenced knowledge (p = 0.017), attitude (p = 0.020), and practice (p = 0.010), while other demographics showed no significant association. Although respondents exhibited strong environmental awareness, a notable knowledge–practice gap persisted. Major barriers included lack of recycling enforcement (77%), inadequate bins (72%), and limited accessibility to centres (69%). Respondents emphasized better infrastructure, stricter enforcement, and early environmental education. By foregrounding women’s agency and bridging the intention–behaviour gap through a gendered behavioural lens, this study advances TPB applications in domestic sustainability contexts and supports Sustainable Development Goal 12.