Policy-Driven Changes in Rural Waste Separation: Evidence from a Quasi-Experimental Study

Waste management plays a crucial role in sustainable development efforts in a national context. However, waste separation in rural areas has received limited research attention, restricting the generalizability of the urban-focused findings to these regions. Furthermore, the influence of policy interventions on waste separation behavior among rural residents remains poorly understood. Therefore, sustainability in rural areas is challenging. Here, we used a quasi-experimental design to examine the causal relationship between policy and rural residents’ waste separation behavior. We identify policy information perception as the key explanatory factor mediating this relationship and validate information dissemination as a robust instrumental variable for policy information perception. Furthermore, we explore the urban–rural disparities in policy information perception and provide recommendations to enhance policy effectiveness. These findings enhance the understanding of the behavioral mechanisms driving rural waste separation, explain how policy information influences ecological behavior from a perceptual perspective, and provide practical guidance for optimizing environmental policy implementation.