How does the digital economy affect the provincial "zero-waste city" construction? Evidence from China

The digital economy is playing a crucial effect in the field of environmental governance. Digital and intelligent management is an essential means to fully realize the "zero-waste city" construction. The present paper investigates the impact of digital economy on China's provincial "zero-waste city" construction. The results indicate that digital economy can contribute to "zero-waste city" construction. The digital economy has a positive nonlinear effect on the construction of "zero-waste city," but the marginal effect is diminishing. The digital economy can facilitate "zero-waste city" construction by improving industrial structure upgrading and green technology innovation. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that digital economy contributes to the construction of "zero-waste city" in the eastern and western regions and high-level environmental regulation regions, while this impact is insignificant in the central region and low-level environmental regulation regions. The digital economy exerts the most significant positive influence on waste resource recycling followed by waste final disposal and then waste reduction at the source. These findings underscore the effect of digital economy in fostering "zero-waste city" construction and promoting sustainable waste management. The present study provides new ideas for the "zero-waste city" construction in emerging developing countries such as China.