Recycling is a pertinent issue in Beijing.This study aims to examine residentsrecycling behaviour and its determinants in Beijings Nanluoguxiang community in order to facilitate the development of a comprehensive understanding concerning the problem of waste management.It also makes evident that the determinants influencing recycling behaviour originate at the local level. Residents participation is fundamental to the achievement of waste minimization, via the process of recycling used materials.It is thus necessary for the population to achieve high levels of environmental awareness and environmental knowledge, which are then expressed through appropriate environmental actions.This qualitative research has used a conceptual framework to analyze the environmental values, situational variables and psychological factors driving residents actions, in order to identify the determinants influencing residents recycling behaviour.This research intends to provide acomprehensive understanding of residents recycling behaviour through a case study of the Nanluoguxiang community in Beijing. The major finding of this study, gained from in-depth interviews and participant observation, was that residents environmental values, sense of environmental threat,response efficacy, social pressures, extrinsic motivation and logistics are the main factors that influence residents recycling behavior.Furthermore, due to the existence of an informal system influenced by market conditions, an extrinsic monetary incentive has become a customary norm in the manner in which residents recycle in their daily lives. Research such as is found in this paper aims to better understand how people recycle, as well as facilitators and barriers that influence their choices.This type of body of knowledge can be used to develop initiatives to encourage greater participation in this environmental activity.