Sociological Perspectives on Waste Management: Socio-Cultural, Social Practice and Institutional Factors on Waste Sorting Behaviour in Indonesia

The rapid growth of waste generation has become one of the most pressing environmental challenges of the 21st century, particularly in developing countries like Indonesia where waste management systems struggle to keep pace with urbanization, consumerism, and population growth. Indonesia is the second-largest contributor of plastic waste in the oceans right now, and poor waste sorting at the source is still a major problem in reaching national sustainability targets. There has been a lot of talk about technical and infrastructural fixes, but not much is known about how socio-cultural values, daily habits, and institutional frameworks affect how people sort their trash in Indonesia. This creates a significant gap in the discourse on waste management, which often overlooks the role of culture and social interaction in sustaining environmental practices. This research addresses that gap by examining waste sorting behaviour in a university setting in Surabaya, Indonesia, through the lens of sociology. By integrating Social Practice Theory and Institutional Theory, the study provides a novel analytical framework for understanding how waste sorting is not merely an individual choice but a socially embedded practice influenced by cultural values, peer influence, and organizational norms. Using a year-long ethnographic observation and semi structured interviews with faculty and staff, the study uncovers the ways in which Indonesian collectivist culture, workplace routines, and institutional support or lack thereof shape both engagement and disengagement in waste segregation. The findings indicate that socio-cultural belonging, peer conformity, institutional legitimacy, and consistency are essential for the maintenance of waste sorting behaviors, whereas infrastructural deficiencies and inadequate enforcement hinder progress. This research contextualizes waste management within Indonesia's distinctive socio-cultural framework, thereby enhancing sociological understandings of environmental practices and offering practical recommendations for policymakers, academic institutions, and organizations aiming to promote sustainable waste management.