Psychological drivers of electric vehicle battery recycling: the impact of place attachment and sustainable attitudes

These results demonstrate that stronger emotional and cognitive ties to one's locality significantly enhance pro‑recycling attitudes, whereas attitudes affect the willingness to participate in formal power battery recycling channels. Effective power battery recycling campaigns in collectivist contexts should therefore move beyond generic appeals and leverage residents' specific attachments to their community's nature, economy, and social fabric. This study contributes to environmental psychology by integrating place‑attachment constructs into a reasoning‑based model of sustainable behavior, and offers actionable insights for municipal authorities, recycling firms, and community groups seeking to improve formal recycling rates and advance circular‑economy objectives in rapidly urbanizing regions.