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A survey on consumers’ attitude towards storing and end of life strategies of small information and communication technology devices in Spain
Abstract
This study analyses the current habits and practices towards the store, repair and second-hand purchase of small electrical and electronic devices belonging to the category of information and communication technology (ICT). To this end, a survey was designed and conducted with a representative sample size of 400 individuals through telephone interviews for the following categories: MP3/MP4, video camera, photo camera, mobile phone, tablet, e-book, laptop, hard disk drive, navigator-GPS, radio/radio alarm clock. According to the results obtained, there is a tendency to store disused small ICT devices at home. On average for all the small ICT categories analysed, 73.91% of the respondents store disused small ICT devices at home. Related to the habits towards the repair and second-hand purchase of small ICT devices, 65.5% and 87.6% of the respondents have never taken to repair and have never purchased second-hand, respectively, small ICT devices. This paper provides useful and hitherto unavailable information about the current habits of discarding and reusing ICT devices. It can be concluded that there is a need to implement awareness-raising campaigns to encourage these practices, which are necessary to reach the minimum goals established regarding preparation for reuse set out in the Directive 2012/19/EU for the category small electrical and electronic equipment.
... Consumers play a crucial role in implementing CE policies, as they make decisions that affect the lifespan of EEE: whether to repair a damaged appliance or dispose of it, buy a new appliance or a secondhand one, or correctly dispose of the appliance at the end of its life (Bovea et al., 2018). However, various factors lead users to make decisions that are contrary to CE principles and sustainable consumption. ...
... However, various factors lead users to make decisions that are contrary to CE principles and sustainable consumption. On the one hand, rapid technological evolution encourages users to replace functional devices with newer models (Babbitt et al., 2009), leading to old devices being unused, stored, or improperly disposed of (Bovea et al., 2018;Pérez-Belis et al., 2013;Polák y Drápalová, 2012). On the other hand, despite a growing willingness to repair EEE, barriers such as high repair costs negatively affect consumers' decision to repair or reuse their devices (Bovea et al., 2018;Rudolf et al., 2022). ...
... On the one hand, rapid technological evolution encourages users to replace functional devices with newer models (Babbitt et al., 2009), leading to old devices being unused, stored, or improperly disposed of (Bovea et al., 2018;Pérez-Belis et al., 2013;Polák y Drápalová, 2012). On the other hand, despite a growing willingness to repair EEE, barriers such as high repair costs negatively affect consumers' decision to repair or reuse their devices (Bovea et al., 2018;Rudolf et al., 2022). ...
... We analysed twenty-eight articles on consumer behaviour regarding CBMs that were conducted in Austria, Italy, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia (western), Sweden, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Some of these studies analysed consumer behaviour in relation to specific products, being the most common ones clothing (Cesarina Mason et al., 2022;Fuchs and Hovemann, 2022;Hur, 2020;Laitala et al., 2021;Rogers et al., 2021;Singh et al., 2019;Terzioğlu, 2021), electronics -including smartphones - (Arman and Mark-Herbert, 2022;van den Berge et al., 2023;Bigerna et al., 2021;Bovea et al., 2017Bovea et al., , 2018Martinho et al., 2017;Ratay, 2022), household appliances (Bovea et al., 2017(Bovea et al., , 2018Gulserliler et al., 2022;Kabel et al., 2020;Laitala et al., 2021;Rogers et al., 2021;Terzioğlu, 2021), and bicycles (Arman and Mark-Herbert, 2022;D'Agostin et al., 2020;Rogers et al., 2021;Vafadarnikjoo et al., 2018). As presented in Figure 2 below, most studies cover consumer behaviour in repair, followed by second-hand and take-back systems of recovery. ...
... We analysed twenty-eight articles on consumer behaviour regarding CBMs that were conducted in Austria, Italy, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia (western), Sweden, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Some of these studies analysed consumer behaviour in relation to specific products, being the most common ones clothing (Cesarina Mason et al., 2022;Fuchs and Hovemann, 2022;Hur, 2020;Laitala et al., 2021;Rogers et al., 2021;Singh et al., 2019;Terzioğlu, 2021), electronics -including smartphones - (Arman and Mark-Herbert, 2022;van den Berge et al., 2023;Bigerna et al., 2021;Bovea et al., 2017Bovea et al., , 2018Martinho et al., 2017;Ratay, 2022), household appliances (Bovea et al., 2017(Bovea et al., , 2018Gulserliler et al., 2022;Kabel et al., 2020;Laitala et al., 2021;Rogers et al., 2021;Terzioğlu, 2021), and bicycles (Arman and Mark-Herbert, 2022;D'Agostin et al., 2020;Rogers et al., 2021;Vafadarnikjoo et al., 2018). As presented in Figure 2 below, most studies cover consumer behaviour in repair, followed by second-hand and take-back systems of recovery. ...
... The main motivation for people to buy second-hand is having a good value for money, which is usually connected to brand names and quality perception (Bovea et al., 2018;Hur, 2020;Kabel et al., 2020;Kannan et al., 2022;Vafadarnikjoo et al., 2018). There are also altruistic reasons (de Morais et al., 2021), such as the feeling of helping charities and avoiding overconsumption (Hur, 2020), which is connected to environmental consideration (Kannan et al., 2022). ...
Circular business models (CBMs) focus on cycling, extending, intensifying, and/or dematerialising material and energy loops to reduce resource inputs and waste and emission leakage. We aim to explore consumer behaviour in circular economy through a systematic literature review to determine barriers and motivators to implementing CBMs, analysing twenty-eight articles. We identified internal motivations, such as economic and environmental concerns; and external factors facilitating engagement with circularity, such as better awareness, and products with design for circularity.
... Concerns with understanding consumers' attitudes towards recycling are not recent. Some authors consider primary factors that determine consumer behavior towards WEEE recovery: awareness of the harmful side of WEEE [46], recovery methods [46,59], and the impact of legislation and environmental policies/practices on consumers' attitudes [60]. External conditions can influence the perception of consumers toward the recycling process. ...
... Eco-conscious consumers are interested in environmentally friendly use, typically having a recycling attitude [61]. Consumers with a propensity to recycle have ecological and environmental beliefs [59]. The way in which products are disposed is influenced by the positive opinions regarding environmental equilibrium [46]. ...
... The results (β = 0.524; Z-value = 12.804; p = 0.000) display a strong and significant positive relationship between these two constructs. Consumers with ecological behavior are interested in the recovery/recycling process [46,59,61]. Our findings are similar, which is why empirical data support H 9 . ...
The negative impact of the waste generated by long-lasting products is a pressing issue for humanity. As such, socio-economic activities worldwide must be carried out according to sustainability principles, and governments have been increasingly pressured to develop laws and policies that protect the environment. The influence of civil society can boost the impact of public policies. For Romania, an emerging country, a well-developed legislation is needed, as well as the involvement of the administrative and civil sectors, not only in raising consumers’ awareness regarding the importance of recovering and recycling waste, but also in changing their purchasing behavior in the direction of ecological products. An empirical investigation was conducted to identify the direct and mediation effects of external factors on the behavior of electrical and electronic product consumers. Data were collected from 421 respondents and evaluated with latent variable analyses
in the R statistical program. The originality of the study resides in articulating a novel relationship between recovery and recycling intentions and the preference for ecological products, enhancing understanding about sustainability in relation to electrical and electronic products. The link between recovering and recycling intentions and consumers’ preferences for ecological products was validated
for the first time in our investigation. The study concludes that external factors have a meaningful direct and mediating effect on Romanian consumers’ green behavior.
... Wieser and Tröger (2016) applied online questionnaire and semi-structured face-to-face interviews to analyze insights into consumers' motivations and considerations regarding mobile phone repair, reuse, and replacement in the United Kingdom. Pérez-Belis et al. (2017) and Bovea et al. (2018) applied telephone surveys to obtain consumer attitudes toward the repair and second-hand purchase preferences for 10 categories of small household EEE and for 10 information and communication technology (ICT) product categories, respectively, in Spain. Rodrigues et al. (2020) applied an online survey in Brazil to identify barriers and motivations regarding the repair of several categories of EEE. ...
... The surveys cover a wide range of product categories, including clothes and furniture (Cox et al., 2013;Rogers et al., 2021), large household appliances such as washing machines or refrigerators (Boldoczki et al., 2020;Song et al., 2012), brown goods Rogers et al., 2021;van der Velden, 2021), and ICT products (Bovea et al., 2018;Sabbaghi & Behdad, 2018;Wieser & Tröger, 2016). Analyzing the countries covered in the surveys and use patterns, it can be seen that information on the use and disposal of kettles is primarily derived from studies conducted in the United Kingdom and Germany (European Commission, 2020b;Gallego-Schmid et al., 2018;Hennies & Stamminger, 2016). ...
... Studies such as Van den Berge et al. (2023) or Bovea et al. (2018) analyze consumers' responses to repair/lifetime product labels. The former focused on analyzing the possible utility and content of a label related to the lifetime of the product, while the latter was focused on designing icons for different circular aspects of a product. ...
Repair is one of the main strategies to extend the lifetime of products in the circular economy framework. With the aim of identifying current consumer practices toward the purchase, use, and end of life of electric and electronic equipment (EEE), including willingness to repair, maintenance, and final disposal, a survey is designed and implemented online, taking kettles as an application case. Regarding current strategies for extending the lifespan of these items, a general lack of maintenance and low levels of reparability or reuse have been detected. Disposal patterns show that nearly half of all kettles disposed of were still functioning. Nevertheless, a future willingness to repair these items has been identified, either by users themselves or at repair centers, if the manufacturer provides the means to do so. Finally, the results reveal that when consumers purchase a kettle, the price and then the energy efficiency score are the main priorities affecting their purchasing decisions, taking priority over the reparability score. These results can help in the design of more focused and direct strategies to promote the reparability of small household appliances, encourage the authorities to regulate the new reparability score in a more efficient way, and improve the way that information is transmitted to users/consumers.
... This is resulting in a spiraling rise in the rate of e-waste generation. There is a need for a thorough look at consumer behaviour and disposal habits to align the mitigation policies to combat hazards from e-waste [2]. ...
... The percentage of EEEs currently owned by the respondents and their family members is shown in Supplementary Table S1 and Table S2, respectively. According to research conducted in Spain revealed that 50% of individuals used at least one and 30% used more than one EEE such as mobile, tablet and speaker [2]. However, about 45% of individuals in the Midwestern region of the USA currently owned at least two EEEs like mobiles, laptops, computer accessories, stereo and other small devices [22]. ...
... However, 40% reported having at least one EEE, including refrigerators, washing machines, stereo systems and other items [46]. Whereas in Spain, 85% of households have at least two mobile phones, 20% have at least five mobile, and 11% of households have at least four MP3 players at home [2]. In the current study in India, most of the respondent's families (annual income level above INR 0.5 million) are using at least one EEE, such as a refrigerator (79%), washing machine (79%), TVs/ monitor (60%), microwaves (50%), laptops (35%) and ACs (32%), respectively. ...
Despite electronic waste (e-waste) rules in force, there is still a huge gap in awareness among communities about the handling
of discarded Electrical and Electronic Equipment. Understanding consumer perception about e-waste disposal and its flow holds a vital role in efficient e-waste management in a developing nation like India, where e-waste generation is rapidly increasing. The current study is based on a nationwide survey of consumer consumption patterns, awareness and disposal behaviour. A survey is conducted with a sample size of 491 respondents from urban, semi-urban and rural India with an
annual household income of more than INR 0.5 million. Data about individuals and households are captured along with other useful primary data to measure consumer behaviour towards e-waste disposal methods. The results show that resident’s education level and age significantly correlate with a possible cause of e-waste disposal behaviour. A limited number of consumers have adopted the formal disposal method, whereas the informal disposal system is prevalent and dominant in all regions. This research provides a scientific analysis of the various choices and preferences of e-waste disposal methods. It is expected to help policymakers and stakeholders to adopt more effective public e-waste disposal rules.
... Nevertheless, these rates are higher than the current repair rates obtained from the scientific literature. Pérez-Belis et al. (2017) and Bovea et al. (2018) obtained through a survey that only 9.6 % and 34.5 % of the Spanish population had repaired a small household EEE or ICT item, respectively, mainly due to the belief that these items are not financially worth repairing, which is in line with the conclusions from Laitala et al. (2021). Magnier and Mugge (2022) designed an online questionnaire that was implemented in several Western European countries, in which the repair rate was 60.2 % for washing machines, 27.4 % for TVs, 37.8 % for mobile phones and 30.3 % for vacuum cleaners, obtaining an average repair success rate of 9.3 %. ...
... is important to observe that despite the repair success rate achieved during the self-guided workshop, only one out of the three participants who had experienced a broken kettle had previously attempted to repair it. This rate is lower than the rate reported by Magnier and Mugge (2022) for TVs (27.4 %) or vacuum cleaners (30.3 %), or by Bovea et al. (2018) for small ICTs (34.5 %), or by Pérez-Belis et al. (2017) for small household EEE (9.56 %). It should be noted that during the self-guided workshop, there are factors that can alter the behaviour of the participants compared to how they would behave at home. ...
... As a proposal for improvement, after the interviews, it was identified that if the manufacturers provided a list of the principal common failures, along with an explanation in video format of how to disassemble and reassemble the product to repair it, this could be an incentive to encourage self-repair. These suggestions may solve the problem that these types of products are usually replaced or stored away broken, as stated by Bovea et al. (2018). ...
... Further, the literature review revealed the interest in studying consumer behavior in the context of consumer activities contributing to two or three phases of the consumption stage of a product lifecycle. For instance investigations of Wastling et al. (2018 ) and Bovea et al. (2018 ) focused on products covering accepting (purchasing), using, and disposal activities. There are a number of studies aimed at ' pro-circular procurement ' and ' careful usage ' behaviors ( Böcker and Meelen 2017 ;Mugge et al. 2017 ;Piscicelli et al. 2018 ;Young et al. 2010 ) or ' pro-circular procurement and appropriate disposal behaviors' ( Pérez-Belis et al. 2015 ). ...
... Product service systems are often less accessible than the competing product since such systems do not allow consumers as much behavioral freedom ( Tukker 2015 ). The issue of second-hand e-products' acceptance was also actively discussed in academia ( Bovea et al. 2018 ;Piscicelli et al. 2018 ;Edbring et al. 2016 ). Pérez-Belis et al. (2015 ) studied the issue of willingness to pay or rent second-hand toys. ...
... In this line, it was highlighted that the proliferation of e-waste collection schemes depends on longevity since recycling habit requires years ( Tanskanen 2013 ). In European countries, e-waste recycling analytics conclude about the existence of competing habits, namely the tendency to store EoL/obsolete e-products of speci c categories at home ( Bovea et al. 2018 ;Yla-Mella et al. 2015 ). ...
... In the literature, there is a lack of research papers analyzing the recycling/reuse process in relationship with the repairing of durable goods (Bovea et al., 2018;Jayaraman et al., 2018;Liu et al., 2019;Islam et al., 2021). These tendencies increase when sustainable behaviour is appreciated by people in the environment where the consumer lives. ...
... Given the ordinal scale of the variables, structural equation modelling analysis using the robust weighted least squares method for estimating model parameters (WLSMV) was used to test the hypotheses (Brown, 2015;Li, 2016 (Brown, 2015). For the first hypothesis, H1, the results (β= -0.171; Z-value= -1.990 and p<0.05) reflect the correlation between the awareness of the impact of WEEE on the environment and health (AIEH) and the propensity to purchase durable goods (PBDG), as proven by previous research (Bovea et al., 2018;Jayaraman et al., 2018;Liu et al., 2019;Corsini et al., 2020;Islam et al., 2021). For this reason, hypothesis H1 is borderline accepted, with the p-value of 0.047 being very close to the acceptance threshold. ...
... Z-value= 8.107 and p<0.001). This hypothesis has been validated in the literature based not only on the three criteria chosen in this paper, but based on multiple purchase criteria such as price, utility, design, performance, perceived value, perceived risk, etc. (Bovea et al., 2018;Jayaraman et al., 2018;Liu et al., 2019;Islam et al., 2021). The test result is statistically significant, and the size of the estimated coefficient leads us to accept hypothesis H3. ...
In recent years, the concern for durable electrical and electronic products as well as the recovery and recycling of electrical and electronic waste has increased, simultaneously with new initiatives aimed not only at protecting the environment, but ensuring consumer's health, while consolidating their fundamental rights. The research aims to identify the factors that influence the sustainable behaviour of the Romanian consumer of electrical and electronic products. In this sense, the ecological attitude, the purchasing behaviour of these goods, and also the recovery/recycling attitude of electrical and electronic waste were taken into account. Data were collected through an online questionnaire from 421 Romanian respondents and processed with the lavaan software package version 0.6-12 of R for structural equation modelling. The novelty of the article lies in how variables such as propensity to recover/recycle, tendency of purchasing durable goods, ecological behaviour, are put in a new context, combining environmental and consumers' protection. The research makes theoretical contributions by proposing and testing specific consumer protection constructs, which do not appear in the literature. From the environmental public policies point of view, the work highlights the factors that can contribute to the development of a responsible behaviour of both the population and public authorities, to stimulate the purchase of sustainable goods, and to ensure an increase in the collection rate of electrical and electronic products in Romania.
Keywords: electrical and electronic products (EEP), the sustainable consumer behavior, consumer's rights, electrical and electronic equipment waste (WEEE), recycling/recovering.
... To effectively establish search boundaries and construct the final sample of relevant articles corresponding to consumer behavior from a CE lens, a structured search string was constructed. Here, various Abbey et al. (2015) x Bakhiyi et al. (2018) x Barbarossa and Pastore (2015) x Bei and Simpson (1995) x Biswas and Roy (2015) x Borthakur and Govind (2016) x Bridgens et al. (2018) x Colesca et al. (2014) x Cordova-Pizarro et al. (2020) x Dixit and Vaish (2015) x Godelnik (2017) x Goworek et al. (2012) x Hamzaoui and Linton (2010) x Harms and Linton (2016) x Hazen et al. (2017) x Khor and Hazen (2017) x Manomaivibool and Vassanadumrongdee (2012) x Mashhadi et al. (2019) x Matsumoto et al. (2018) x Miliute-Plepiene et al. (2016) x Milovantseva and Saphores (2013) x Mokan et al. (2018) x Ongondo and Williams (2011) x Orlins and Guan (2016) x Park (2015) x Pisitsankkhakarn and Vassanadumrongdee (2020) x Tansel (2017) x Tanskanen (2013) x Wang et al. (2013) x Wang et al. (2020) x Weelden et al. (2016) x Wilkinson and Williams (2020) x Wilson (2016) x Yin and GaoHe (2014) x Ylä-Mella et al. (2015) x Yu and Lee (2019) x Camacho-Otero et al. (2018) x x Edbring et al. (2016) x x Hamzaoui and Linton (2014) x x Neto et al. (2016) x x Park and Lin (2018) x x Sun et al. (2018) x x Böcker and Meelen (2017) x x x x x Mugge et al. (2017) x x Pérez- Belis et al. (2015) x x x Piscicelli et al. (2018) x x x x Young et al. (2010) x x x x Bovea et al. (2018) x x x Parajuly et al. (2020) x x x x Wastling et al. (2018) x x x x -Studies focusing on only one product consumption phase and considering specific CE-related product. ...
... Table 1 includes 50 studies from the 98-study sample as data saturation (Faulkner and Trotter, 2017) was reached, and no additional categories emerged. The significance of the consumer behavior contribution to the success of circular business models has been well documented in various European countries (Bovea et al., 2018;Lakatos et al., 2016;Mont et al., 2017;Mugge et al., 2017;Weelden et al., 2016), North and South America (Abbey et al., 2015;Hazen et al., 2017;Wagner, 2013), Australia (Bianchi and Birtwistle, 2012), Asia (Borthakur and Govind, 2016;Kuah and Wang, 2020;Wang et al., 2013), and Africa (Nduneseokwu et al., 2017;Nnorom et al., 2009). As such, the influence of consumer behavior on the CE transition has been examined across a wide range of product groups from various industries, including household e-products (Abbey et al., 2015;Pérez-Belis et al., 2015), clothing and textiles (Bianchi and Birtwistle, 2012;Goworek et al., 2012;Laitala and Klepp, 2018), furniture (Edbring et al., 2016), and vehicles (Despeisse et al., 2015;Matsumoto et al., 2018). ...
... Furthermore, our extensive review revealed the interest in examining CE-oriented consumer behavior in several phases of consumption within the product lifecycle. For instance, Wastling et al. (2018) and Bovea et al. (2018) focused on some CE-related products and the embrace of consumer activities in the acquisition, use, and discarding phases of product consumption. Several studies have explored consumers' purchase, careful use (Böcker and Meelen, 2017;Mugge et al., 2017;Piscicelli et al., 2018;Young et al., 2010), acquisition, and proper discarding behaviors (Pérez-Belis et al., 2015). ...
The operationalization of circular economy (CE) strategies requires consumer involvement in the acquisition, use, and disposal of products and services. However, encouraging sustainable consumption patterns and CE-oriented consumer behavior to enable the CE in practice is complex and in its infancy stage. This study aims to clarify, frame, and measure consumer contributions to the implementation of the CE in regard to the 10R circular strategies: recover, recycle, repurpose, remanufacture, refurbish, repair, re-use, reduce, rethink, and refuse. The study employs a semi-systematic literature review and a conceptual analysis to develop an inclusive framework of consumer behaviors relating to CE perspectives in practice. The manuscript addresses three goals. First, a tri-dimensional consumer role in contributing to the CE transition is mapped, considering the consumer as (i) a product customer who acquires products or services, (ii) a product user who retains the value of products, and (iii) an end-of-life product holder who discards products. Framing this tri-dimensional contribution is essential to closing the loop on products through (i) careful use and maintenance, (ii) proper collection, and (iii) reuse, repair, or recycling. Second, based on the “closing–slowing and future–past” matrix developed, a CE-related product typology involving fifteen circular product categories is proposed. Third, a five-level hierarchical pyramid for CE-related products is presented to rank the fifteen circular product categories identified from more circular to less circular. Thus, five levels of consumer contributions to the CE, from low to high, are defined as corresponding to the circular product categories identified. As a result, a novel product-centric framework of CE-related consumer behavior to monitor and measure product-level consumer contributions to the CE is developed. The resulting conceptual framework opens up further perspectives for policymakers and producers to more effectively manage the process of directing consumer behavior toward more circular and sustainable consumption alternatives.
... In terms of competing practices, storage and replacement are the most studied practices. The practice of storage was examined by 10 of the 44 studies, but most frequently, alongside other circular practices such as repair (Bovea et al., 2018), redistribution (Sarigöllü et al., 2020) and disposal (Nojgaard et al., 2020;Nowakowski, 2019). Donation and reuse were considered complements, as platforms or networks for donation are the most common system of provision for the practice of reuse (Sarigöllü et al., 2020). ...
... Donation and reselling are often redistribution practices at the end of the use phase that prevent users from discarding unwanted or surplus products (Lehner et al., 2020;Sarigöllü et al., 2020). Regarding the product acquisition phase, second-hand purchase was the most common practice, although consumers were less likely to consider it due to distrust of used products or the price compared to buying a new product (Bovea et al., 2018;Hur, 2020;Pérez-Belis et al., 2017). More importantly, consumers admit that it is challenging to find something interesting in a second-hand store with less effort (Hur, 2020;Twigger Holroyd, 2015), which reduces the acquisition of second-hand products. ...
... The element of meaning in the appropriation of CCPs is often assessed in terms of the social importance of novelty and functionality on the one hand (Jaeger-Erben et al., 2021;Magnier and Mugge, 2022) and consumer attachment to the product on the other hand (Bovea et al., 2018;Nojgaard et al., 2020). This emotional attachment is induced by either the product itself, the content of the data stored on the device or the relationship with the previous user (Hobson et al., 2018;Nojgaard et al., 2020). ...
There is an increasing desire for regenerative consumption and production systems that—through the concept of the circular economy—enable longer and better use of resources and products. Circular products and services designed for repair, reuse and recycling require alternative consumption patterns, consumer roles and daily routines—a topic that is still under-researched in the current circular economy literature. We conducted a systematic review of the literature on circular practices with the following objectives: (1) to identify the circular consumer practices studied, (2) to determine the necessary conditions for their appropriation and routinisation, and (3) to suggest how their appropriation and routinisation can be better studied. The analysis of 44 articles revealed 15 circular consumer practices. Meanwhile, Circular consumer practices relating to sufficiency, such as refuse and reduce, have received less attention. We find that elements of practice such as consumer competence, meaning and material play an important role in the appropriation and routinisation of circular consumer practices. However, components such as socio-structural contexts, trade-offs and rebound effects, all of which influence the likelihood of appropriation and routinisation of circular products and services, have not been sufficiently explored. We also find that circular consumer practices are often described as momentary doings rather than ones that are continuously integrated into existing everyday consumption routines. Our findings suggest that circular consumer practices, although interconnected and likely to compete or reinforce each other, are currently conceptualised as isolated practices. Future research should explore how circular consumer practices interlock with and reconfigure other practices and contribute to the improvement of the framework proposed in this review.
... The UAE has lately increased the focus on the rising problem of e-waste by creating the world's biggest e-waste recycling facility in the Dubai Industrial Park [9]. While existing literature has also been limited to examining the e-waste recycling sustainability behaviour, most studies examine the e-waste recycling behaviour [10][11][12][13], not focusing on behaviour continuity. Also, existing studies focus on evaluating the risk and developing decision tools for achieving sustainability in e-waste recycling [14] or on e-waste collection strategies to promote a culture toward sustainability [15]. ...
... Bovea, Ibanez-Fores, Perez-Belis and Juan [11] Showed that e-waste management rules and economic variables drive consumer participation in the 3Rs (Repair, Reuse, and Recycle) of EOL/EOU electronic devices, which benefits the environment and natural resources. The study found that consumers, especially those who purchase small electronic devices, are still unprepared to embrace such habits. ...
... Using an IBM-based model, this study examined the possible determinants that contribute to the sustainability of recycling behaviour. The study did not concentrate on behavioural aspects since those have been covered often in research [11,12,[52][53][54][55]. The IBM variables demonstrated a major good influence on the medical field in terms of maintaining behaviour continuity in order to continue addressing the treatment [17]. ...
Repeated actions and behaviours are characteristic of people’s daily lives. However, there is a dilemma when this repeated action is associated with mobile phone recycling since convincing mobile users to recycle sustainably is challenging. This study analysed the four factors (i.e., actual knowledge, salience, environmental constraints, and habits) adopted from the Integrated Behavioural Model (IBM) theory and examined their impact on behavioural sustainability. A partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach was applied to evaluate 601 responses from a self- administered online survey collected from mobile user participants based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The survey findings indicated that habit has the strongest and statistically significant positive influence on behaviour; followed by knowledge and skills. Additionally, the salience of behaviour has a considerably negative influence on behaviour sustainability unaffected by environmental constraints. This study serves as a springboard for future research examining the IBM model to understand recycling behaviour in general and smartphone recycling sustainability in particular. Additionally, this research can assist smartphone manufacturers in understanding the factors that will maintain the recycling behaviour continuity, increasing the number of returned devices.
... In addition to shortcomings in collection networks, the lack of consumers' comprehensive participation is still a challenge, even in countries with a take-back system. Over the last ten years, numerous studies have been conducted on consumers' participation in WEEE recovery [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] and disposal preferences [6,[11][12][13]. Some studies concluded that consumers are not managing their WEEE appropriately due to incomplete and/or inconvenient collection systems [4,6,8,13], whereas others argued that the key issue is the lack of incentives [6,11,12,14]. ...
... The untapped potential of reuse is not just for mobile phones but similar consumers' behavior and storing habits have been observed for other consumer electronics types as well (e.g., [7,13,17]). For example, the reasons for keeping laptops at home are very similar to those for mobile phones, most often being stored as a backup device or because of personal attachment [7]. ...
... The untapped potential of reuse is not just for mobile phones but similar consumers' behavior and storing habits have been observed for other consumer electronics types as well (e.g., [7,13,17]). For example, the reasons for keeping laptops at home are very similar to those for mobile phones, most often being stored as a backup device or because of personal attachment [7]. However, it can be assumed that laptops do not have the same reuse potential as mobile phones, due to their longer average lifespan before storage and they are less likely to be viewed as an up-to-date product. ...
This study focuses on the lifespan of consumer electronics. The article reviews end-of-life terminology in scientific literature and suggests distinguishing end-of-use and end-of-life stages. The question, when electronics become waste, is approached using the concept of a system called PSSP language, which classifies artefacts based on their attributes of purpose, structure, state and performance. It is highlighted that waste as a concept is dynamic; the same thing can be waste or non-waste at different times and places and for different people. Further, the article reviews the impact of storage behavior on the realization of the waste hierarchy, using mobile phones as a case study. Evidence suggests that over half of customers use their mobile phones for only two years, and there is little incentive to keep them in use longer. Surveys also indicate that over half of the customers do not return their phones for reuse or recycling but keep them at home. The article suggests that the three key factors, promoting the storing of an old phone, are the shortness of usage time, perceived residual value of replaced equipment and concerns of personal information security. It is also indicated that memories and the personal attachment to the device contribute to consumers’ storage decision. It is concluded that, to prolong the use of mobile phones, there is a demand for changing consumers attitudes towards the return of electronics for reuse and repair to be more positive.
... As a result, according to Robinson (2009), 20,000-25,000 kilotonnes of e-waste were generated globally in . Breivik et al. (2014 and Schwarzer et al. (2005), who reported that 35,000 pounds such as heavy metals and flame retardants, which can harm public health and local environmental quality if not properly handled, such alarming findings call for more attention from policymakers and researchers in order to adequately address this serious problem (Bovea et al., 2018;Ismail & Hanafiah, 2020;Mairizal et al., 2021). ...
... Second, many people are unaware of the toxicity level of e-waste and the threat it poses to the Earth's health; this threat can become severe if improper ewaste disposal practices continue (Nnorom et al., 2009). Third, instead of returning these end-of-life products to manufacturers or recycling centres, people frequently store them at home, potentially resulting in massive e-waste production (Bovea et al., 2018). For instance, Saphores et al. (2009) evaluated the amount of e-waste stored in basements and attics in the United States. ...
... According to our comprehensive review of e-waste research, the vast majority of consumer e-waste disposal behaviour studies have failed to employ any useful theoretical lenses in their analysis (Arain et al., 2020;Bai et al., 2018;Borthakur & Govind, 2019;Bovea et al., 2018;Chi et al., 2014;Delcea et al., 2020;Deng et al., 2017;Hamdan & Saidan, 2020;Islam et al., 2020;Jafari et al., 2017;Lau et al., 2013;Miner et al., 2020;Mishima & Nishimura, 2016;Nguyen et al., 2021;Nowakowski, 2016;Pérez-Belis et al., 2015;Qu et al., 2019;Ramzan et al., 2019;Rodrigues et al., 2020;Song et al., 2012;Tan et al., 2018). Similarly, 20 of the 43 studies used theoretical lenses, with the majority (nine studies) relying on the theory of planned behaviour (Aboelmaged, 2021;Echegaray & Hansstein, 2017;Islam et al., 2021;Kumar, 2019;Shaharudin et al., 2020;Thi Thu Nguyen et al. 2019;Wang et al., 2016; and the theory of reasoned action (see Kochan GILAL et AL. ...
E-waste is the world's fastest-growing waste stream, and it contains toxic chemicals that are harmful to human health. Research has shown that the vast majority of consumers are unwilling to dispose of e-waste, preferring to keep obsolete products at home rather than returning them to manufacturers for recycling. Despite the evident importance of this area of research, there is yet to be a systematic assessment of e-waste disposal behaviour that summarises the relationships among constructs in the forms of antecedents, decisions, and consequences from the perspective of consumer behaviour. With this knowledge gap in mind, the current paper's goal is to provide a comprehensive examination of available studies on consumer e-waste disposal behaviour. In particular, the purpose is to promote e-waste disposal behaviour by looking at how such behaviour has been utilised as a construct in the literature and what theories, contexts, characteristics, and methodological approaches have been used to strengthen this behaviour. Towards this aim, we used VOSviewer to examine N = 43 research publications on e-waste disposal behaviour published in Scopus-indexed journals between 2000 and 2021, noting discrepancies, identifying major research gaps, and developing comprehensive research agendas (provided in the form of testable propositions).
... Para esses modelos mais abrangentes, os autores sugeriram investigar variáveis ainda pouco exploradas como: hábito (Aboelmaged, 2021); incentivos financeiros para descarte responsável (Dhir et al., 2021); e influência dos traços de personalidade (Zhang et al., 2020). As pesquisas classificadas no tema 3 investigaram o comportamento de armazenamento domiciliar de lixo eletrônico (Bovea, Ibáñez-Forés, Pérez-Belis, & Juan, 2018;Nowakowski, 2019;Pierron et al., 2022;Sabbaghi, Esmaeilian, Mashhadi, Behdad, & Cade, 2015). ...
... Nowakowski (2019) (Bovea et al., 2018;Sabbaghi et al., 2015). ...
This article aims to analyze the stage of progress and flow of studies on responsible disposal of electronic waste and consumer behavior. Therefore, a systematic literature review was conducted. After searching in scientific databases and applying article selection strategies, the sample consisted of 50 articles that underwent bibliometric analysis and thematic-categorical analysis. The results show that the research is recent, most were published in the last five years (2019-2023), which shows how contemporary the topic is. The papers address issues such as: responsible disposal behavior and intention; environmental knowledge and awareness; home storage of disused electronics; influence of information and advertising; perception of the useful life of electronics; influence of Word-of-Mouth (WoM); and selling disused electronics on Consumer-to-Business (C2B) platforms. The main research gaps found are: influence of planned obsolescence and psychological obsolescence; influence of financial rewards; concern about data privacy; sale of disused electronics on C2B and Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) platforms; and studies associating responsible disposal and social desirability.
Keywords: Systematic Review; e-waste; Consumer behavior
... Technological innovation, economic growth and market penetration on a global scale have contributed to massive amounts of e-waste generation as a novel environmental challenge (Osibanjo & Nnorom, 2007). Because appliance-related technology, in particular, is frequently updated, older models lose value among consumers, even as those models' remain useful and fully functional (Bovea et al., 2018). consumers' transaction cost (Shevchenko et al., 2021). ...
... The proper return of end-of-life EEE via formal collection channel enables the 6Rs (i.e. rethink, reduce, reuse, repair, refurbish and remanufacture) of the CEBM(Bovea et al., 2018;Tansel, 2017). Furthermore, scholars have asserted the necessity of recycling at the consumer level to retain the value of parts and materials(Miliute-Plepiene et al., 2016;Wastling et al., 2018). ...
The prior literature has discussed the benefits of the circular economy business model (CEBM) while working to streamline the environmental aspect, touching upon the social aspect and improving the economic aspect. These aspects have been widely recognised as pillars of sustainability. Thus, prior scholars have sought to identify the relationship between the CEBM and sustainability. However, the extant literature, which remains relatively nascent, has failed to clarify this linkage for each pillar of sustainability. To address this lacuna, we followed a systematic literature review (SLR) approach to determine the current state of research on the CEBM and sustainability. Our study identifies and presents the thematic foci in the prior literature, which highlight the linkages between the CEBM and the pillars of sustainability. These thematic foci include the CEBM and sustainability, the CEBM and the environmental dimension, the CEBM and the social dimension and the CEBM and the economic dimension. In addition, this SLR recognises various research gaps within each theme and offers actionable avenues for future research. We also propose a conceptual framework, rooted in social capital theory (SCT), that highlights the linkages between the CEBM and sustainability. Our findings reveal that research at the intersection of the CEBM and sustainability considers the CEBM an integral component of sustainability. We conclude by presenting our work's theoretical and practical implications, which can assist scholars and organisations to incorporate the pillars of sustainability within their CEBMs.
... In terms of the second-hand market, there is not much data publicly available for ovens, hobs and cooking fume extractors. With regards to other home appliances such as small devices, it has been estimated that only 12% of the population actually purchase second-hand products (Bovea et al., 2018), and that when they do it is mainly due to economic reasons (environmental aspects are generally ignored). This figure is even lower in Perez-Belis et al. (2017), where only 0.75% of respondents to a survey admitted having bought second-hand small home appliances. ...
... In recent years, it has been observed that electrical and electronic appliances are replaced earlier than they actually need to be. In Bovea et al. (2018), the authors conducted an analysis of the habits of consumers regarding the substitution, repair or second-hand purchase of the most frequent information and communication technology (ICT) devices in Spain (mobile phones, e-book readers and tablets). Some of their findings were that only 13% of the population stopped using the devices because they were broken. ...
Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Regulation of domestic cooking appliances entered into force in 2015. Since then, the market has evolved and new technologies are available. The implementing measures contain review clauses that are already due. Energy classes also need rescaling. Therefore, the Commission launched the revision of this Regulation. The study has been led by DG ENER and conducted by the Joint Research Centre.
Some areas where revised regulation could provide added value in this product group have been identified. Some oven manufacturers may be exploiting the characteristics of current measurement methods to declare energy consumption values that are lower than real-life use. The current approach for energy declaration allows the use of heating modes that are not consumer representative. Similarly, current energy efficiency measurement methods in cooking fume extractors may be pushing the market towards high airflow appliances, rather than to energy efficient ones. Other aspects that required further research were the ambition level of material efficiency requirements, the feasibility of energy sources such as hydrogen or the harmonization with other horizontal regulation such as low power modes.
Based on these aspects, a set of policy options have been evaluated and presented as potential aspects to review in a hypothetical new version of the ecodesign and energy labelling regulation for cooking appliances.
... Out of the global e-waste generation, only 20% is formally recycled [17] and a large portion ends up with scrap collectors and informal recycling [7,9]. One main challenge in e-waste recycling is enhancing consumer participation [1,2,4]; hence, many studies have been conducted to understand patterns of EEE consumption, e-waste awareness, and disposal patterns globally [1,2,4,8,9]. Although these studies are mainly based on rich countries, it is observed that poor countries also generate comparative amounts of e-waste per capita with current global open economy trends [13]. ...
... A preliminary exploratory study with 25 participants was conducted as interviews before design the questionnaire. In addition, previously published studies [2,4,8,19] were used as a guide. In the context of their respective countries, Islam et al. in Australia [2] and Wilson et al. in the UK [4] obtained similar data. ...
Consumer behavior has a significant impact on determining the best approaches for achieving circular economy goals. In this study, young consumers’ behavior in personal electronic equipment usage and disposal was evaluated. In Sri Lanka, 96% of university students have laptop computers and 100% have mobile phones. Meanwhile, mobile phone availability is 1.37 per capita, which is a comparatively higher value according to global statistics. Average possession time, reasons for obsolescence of personal electronic equipment, and awareness of e-waste characteristics are in accordance with global trends. Consumers are aware of the hazardous nature of e-waste, but their awareness of e-waste management schemes available in the country is drastically low. Their participation in formal e-waste management is also low. Stockpiling of end of use personal electronics is common in Sri Lanka; 1.77 ± 1.88 mobile phones and 0.72 ± 0.97 laptop computers per capita are in hibernation, which is a higher value when compared to global levels. More than 75% of the sample declared that they store e-waste at home. Hence, the study emphasizes the importance of raising awareness of formal e-waste management routes among university students as well as the general public. However, it is noteworthy that consumers are concerned about the risk of information recovery from end-of-life personal electronics. As a result, if personal electronics recycling goals are to be met, data destruction must also be ensured.
... Within the waste management hierarchy, repair and reuse play a key role in reducing waste by prolonging the lifespan of products. The decision to repair or reuse EEE is influenced by several factors, including energy efficiency [4], the type of repair needed [5], the quality of repair [6], consumer attitudes towards reusing repaired EEE [7,8], and the ease of product disassembly [9]. Numerous studies have explored the environmental benefits of repairing and reusing EEE, focusing on extending product lifespans through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) [4,[10][11][12]. ...
The escalating generation of small Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) poses a significant global challenge, constituting 30% of total WEEE in 2019. Projections suggest a 90% increase in Australia over the next 25 years. This study delves into the impact of repair and reuse on small WEEE, examining the interplay between product lifespan, products on the market (PoM), and waste generation rates (WGR). The findings from a Waste Generation Estimation model underscore that repair and reuse efforts, in isolation, have a limited short-term impact on WGR reduction. A substantial decrease in WGR can only be achieved by reducing the PoM, driven by Repair and Reuse. This underscores the necessity of a comprehensive approach, which involves incentivizing consumers and placing greater responsibility on producers to manage the entire lifecycle of small EEE. By implementing strategies such as eco-modulation and takeback schemes, alongside promoting durability and repair, the Circular Economy can be better integrated into managing this growing waste stream.
... There are a few types of failures, such as with the Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) of vacuum cleaners, hand blenders and heaters, and the replacement of motors, where replacement is a better environmental choice than repair. This type of assessment has the potential to help citizens assess their product failure against the average lifespan of the product, which for the nine categories examined, ranges from 6 to 8 years (Bovea et al., 2018). ...
The UK has a growing problem in the fast and unsustainable accumulation of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, causing a wide range of negative environmental and social impacts. The UK repair economy, by its nature, is a complex system involving an interplay of legislative (i.e., policy, law, regulation), social (i.e., education, health, wellbeing), economic (i.e., fiscal, business models, supply chains) and environmental aspects (i.e., materials and energy use, greenhouse gas emissions), and stakeholders (i.e., citizens, educators, repair professionals, producers, waste processors, policymakers) at a range of scales (i.e., local, national, and global). Growing a successful UK repair economy can help tackle many negative environmental and social impacts including reducing electronic waste, material consumption, mitigating supply chain risk, and regional inequality. To do this, the needs and interactions of stakeholders at local, national and global level should be supported via coordinated policy and regulation initiatives. This article takes a systems approach to understanding the UK repair economy, identifying key policy and regulatory aspects and opportunities for action and development across global, national, and local contexts to help it grow.
... Repair and reuse often reduce EEE replacement rates, leading to a reduction in WEEE generation rates. Decisions on repairing and reusing a certain EEE depend on various factors, including energy efficiency [13], types of repair [14], aesthetic appearance of the repaired product [15], consumer perception of using repaired EEE [16,17], efficiency of reusing mechanisms [18], and the ease of disassembly of the original products [19]. In addition, several studies have investigated the environmental impact of repair and reuse of EEE by considering lifetime extension using lifecycle assessment [13,[20][21][22]. ...
The global and Australian trends indicate a steady increase in the generation of small waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), constituting 30% of global WEEE in 2019 with an expected 90% increase in Australia over the next 25 years. Given this fact, identifying the most suitable circular economy strategy is vital in managing this waste stream. Hence, followed by a review of the literature, a model was developed to assess the suitability of repair, reuse, and recycling of small electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) by considering the lifespan and products put on the market (PoM) as critical variables. Findings indicate that solely repairing and reusing products, without reducing PoM small EEE, minimally affects short-term waste reduction. A synergistic approach, combining high product reuse with reduced PoM small EEE, is essential to decrease small WEEE generation significantly. Regardless of lifespan changes, the study indicates a proportional relationship between small WEEE generation rates and PoM small EEE changes, emphasising the need for a holistic strategy. Considering this, within stewardship schemes, the primary focus should initially lie on repairing and repurposing small EEE, with the potential for expansion into recycling once sufficient infrastructure and achievable recovery goals are established. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) must shoulder substantial accountability, with a firm commitment to extended producer responsibility (EPR) even for historical products. The initial rollout could target four specific categories: toys, food preparation equipment, vacuum cleaners, and household tools, with the scope widening to encompass all categories following successful implementation.
... More specifically, many studies have surveyed disposal preferences of consumers (e.g. Bovea et al., 2018;Islam et al., 2021;Kummer et al., 2021;Papaoikonomou et al., 2020;Park et al., 2020). Some studies have Sustainable e-waste management examined factors influencing consumers' recycling behavior (Aboelmaged, 2021;Papaoikonomou et al., 2020;Park et al., 2020;Saphores et al., 2012;Wang et al., 2019) and willingness to pay for e-waste recycling (Koshta et al., 2022;Song et al., 2012;Yin et al., 2014). ...
Purpose
There is widespread consensus that unchecked growth of e-waste is a major challenge to global sustainability transition. Current research has failed to connect e-waste with principles of circularity and sustainability from the consumption perspective. This paper aims to answer the following questions: What kind of environmental behaviors (EBs) exist among consumers in relation to e-waste?; In what ways are these consumers different from and similar to each other based on their EBs in relation to e-waste?; How do consumers and their EBs contribute to sustainable waste management?
Design/methodology/approach
Based on primary data from an Indian sample of information and communication technology consumers, EBs relevant to e-waste management are identified. In the next stage, a behavior-based segmentation and profiling of consumers is performed.
Findings
The first phase of analysis produced eight distinct EBs which were then used in the next phase to obtain a consumer typology of three segments. The three consumer segments differed significantly with each other on general environmental behavior and awareness about e-waste.
Research limitations/implications
The paper develops a comprehensive conceptual framework for studying the demand-side circularity transition for sustainable e-waste management.
Practical implications
For business stakeholders, findings of the study and the proposed framework can inform behavior change interventions to customize offerings for different right consumer segments.
Originality/value
The paper adds new knowledge to the intersectional area of e-waste, consumer behavior and sustainability through the development of consumer typology and a conceptual framework.
... Typically, literature addresses economic aspects as the most relevant ones (cf. Bovea et al., 2018;Güsser-Fachbach et al., 2023). Of course, this is also reflected by the most important items, but we identified information provided to customers as another main category for operational aspects. ...
Repairing broken products is not yet preferred over replacing these items with new goods. One major issue is that repair is typically perceived as being too expensive, time-consuming and cumbersome. In order to change consumption habits of consumers and thus, to increase repair rates, repair must be an attractive option, i.e., in comparison to purchasing new products. For achieving this, repair businesses must offer convenient services and continuously improve their processes. Our study aims at identifying the most important aspects for (potential) consumers of repair services. First, based on an extensive literature review which is complemented by expert interviews, operational aspects were compiled. Thereafter, the importance of these aspects from the perspective of consumers was determined through a survey study with more than 600 participants. We find that the most important items are related to information and economic aspects, and moreover trust-building measures and communication skills. The comparison of item importance related to various product options indicates that the results are a general representation of the importance of operational aspects independent from the specific product. The results of this study support repair businesses to streamline their services, and on the other hand policy-makers can identify promising entry points for effective policy measures fostering repair.
... Ademais, não é só isso, como em alguns casos é descartado de maneira errada. Isso se traduz em um risco enorme para a saúde pública, visto que o lixo eletrônico contém compostos perigosos, tais como metais pesados que são danosos a saúde e ao meio ambiente (BOVEA et al., 2018). ...
By 2030, the world will reach the mark of 74 million metric tons of electronic waste generated annually. In the meantime, the relevance of the topic, evaluated from a supply chain perspective, is related to everything from the impacts of the mining sector to the consumption and disposal of electronic products. In this sense, the problems generated by this economic activity can be minimized with supply chain management, specifically the development of circular supply chain management (Circular Supply Chain Management-CSCM) for electronic waste. Therefore, this study is a bibliometric review that analyzed 34 publications in the area that occurred between 2017 and 2021 with the aim of generating recommendations for new studies. Through research in the Web of Science (WoS) database and later analysis in VosViewer. The research concluded that there is a concentration of citations in the 10 most cited authors, which correspond to 44.49% of the total citations and that they are separated into 2 clusters, with an author central to both clusters. In addition, the most cited articles in the selection were identified. The most relevant countries were Australia, India and Italy and the main journals are Environmental Science and Pollution Research, followed by Sustainable Production and Consumption and the Journal of Cleaner Production. It was found that the three most used keywords are circular economy, e-waste and management. In the bibliographic coupling analysis, per article, the articles were separated into 2 clusters, with the manuscript by Nascimento et al. (2019) the most cited in cluster 1 and Islam et al. (2018) the most cited in cluster 2. The 5 articles with the highest connection strength were: Bressanelli, Perona and Saccani (2019) with 35, Bressanelli et al. (2020) with 31, Awasthi et al. (2018) and Sharma, Joshi and Kumar (2020) with 28 each and Islam et al. (2018) with 23. In the bibliographic coupling analysis, by author, Gianmarco Bressanelli, Marco Perona and Nicola Saccani are the most cited. Regarding co-citation per document, the 3 documents analyzed form a single cluster and the article that stood out a little above the others was Islam et al. (2018) with 13 citations and 10 connection strength. The other 2 articles have 10 citations and 8 link strength.
... a short-sighted diagnosis of environmental issues lulls individuals into a state of complacency,having exhibited a few instances of what is popularly known as PEBs.Not surprisingly, past studies have reported the evidence of negative spillovers and rebound effects of PEBs [31], [32], [33], [34].What is more pertinent and rather alarming is that even research literature on environmental behavior has been vulnerable to this trend. For instance,Bovea et al. [35] note that disposal behavior is the most widely studied topic in consumer studies on e-waste management. Furthermore,recycling is found to dominate academic and policy discourses on circular economy [36], [37].Accordingly,we support the view that environmental behaviors should not be treated in isolation;rather they must be located and embedded in discussions on sustainable consumption and lifestyle choices [38], [39]. ...
There is growing interest among activists, policy makers, academicians, and practitioners in understanding and promoting sustainable consumption. Research in environmental psychology has largely concentrated on western societies, while the global south, a major player in global sustainability transition, is underrepresented. This sample skewness has undermined the role of context and a restricted conceptualization of environmental behavior. Further, there is a research need to incorporate environmental behaviors that are driven by cultural beliefs, practices, and evolving local context, more so in non-western societies. Motivated by these gaps, we discuss and develop a model integrating contextual influences on environmental behavior, outline its antecedents, and its research and managerial implications. We focus on Attitudinal Factors and External Factors as antecedents of environmental behavior and highlight the contextual influence with specific reference to India. We identify six dimensions under attitudinal factors— individual-nature, individual-individual, individual-time, individual-life, individual-technology, and individual-waste— and monetary, social, and physical categories in external factors. We present an integrated model to stimulate more studies on environmental behavior and guide behavior change interventions in non-Western contexts. The model provides a theoretical lens to extend our understanding of the nature and dynamics of contextual influences on environmental behavior. Further, practitioners could leverage the model to aid strategic interventions for business and policy outcomes.
... There is little detailed data available on the actual consumption and real durability of goods [ 41]. When products reach consumers, it cannot be assumed they are being actively used [ 42]. Furthermore, after initial consumption, most of the seconduse transactions are within the informal economy which makes tracking of reuse difficult and challenging [ 22]. ...
In the final chapter, we take a closer look at the role that consumers play in the transition to the CE. Ultimately, consumers must be willing to buy sustainable circular products over those products that have a single lifecycle. The CE can receive great impulses even from a single person or a small group of people as we have shown in the repair café and iFixit case studies. This can cause a ripple effect that can quickly reach millions of people all over the world. It is up to governments to spread awareness amongst their citizens, so they become responsible consumers, and play a role as one of the largest consumers in their own economy as well. We look at the city of Rotterdam for a collection of cases, specifically looking at several consumer initiatives and how the city has been improving its own consumption since governments are big consumers themselves. We end the chapter, and the book, by looking at the circularity gap and revisiting what has been discussed in this book regarding closing this gap.
... Borthakur and Singh (2021; discuss the habit of passing smartphones to a secondhand and even a thirdhand user before discarding them as e-waste -a habit influenced by the perception that electronic equipment has some value. Although the sale of products to third parties is cited as a recurring destination, the purchase of used products is still not very common: recent studies show that between 89% and 99% of consumers surveyed do not buy used products Bovea et al., 2017;Bovea et al., 2018;Wieser;Troger, 2018). ...
Providing the correct destination at the end of the product's use phase is essential for value recovery and to reduce the environmental impact at this lifecycle stage. To understand the e-waste recycling behavior among users, this article aims to identify the most common destinations given to smartphones when they are no longer used. A systematic literature review was carried out, and 13 studies were selected for a meta-analysis. The variable is the selection of the most common destinations for e-waste: reuse and recycling (recovered value), storage and informal collection (missed value), and household waste (destroyed value). The results present a summarized measure with the combined proportion of the studies for each category. Studies were weighted by the precision of confidence interval estimates presented in Forest Plots. The main results point out common problems and demonstrate how the strategies and policies adopted in each country can influence the chosen methods of disposal. These specificities require unique strategies to deal with local problems. As a secondary contribution, this study proposes guidelines to reduce e-waste generation and to create awareness and infrastructure to increase value recovery.
... The aim is to contribute to existing literature concerning an increased understanding of stakeholder collaboration and networking, from a waste management perspective, at the product level. E.g., adding to the existing literature on user perspective on product circularity as a range of exchange agent enablers are needed for this process to happen (Selvefors et al., 2019), discussions concerning misalignment between stakeholders and possible users (Gobert et al., 2021) and finally contributing to the existing research on PfR (Bovea et al., 2018;Coughlan and Fitzpatrick, 2020;Dalhammar et al., 2021;Gusmerotti et al., 2018;McMahon et al., 2019;Messmann et al., 2019;Milios & Dalhammar, 2020;Pini et al., 2019;Rizzi et al., 2020;Zacho et al., 2018). ...
The circular economy (CE) gives rise to paradigm shifts in the understanding, practice and regulation of waste, challenging a waste
sector built for the linear waste paradigm of waste streams rather than value streams. We examine how a waste management company
developed value streams, caught between increasing competition for waste types with high market value, and rigid regulation limiting
the development of new streams. This cross-pressure necessitates new knowledge and practices to not only transform waste streams
into value streams, but also to prioritize the inner circles prescribed by the CE paradigm. There is a potential for increasing reuse of
products that have been collected as waste or handed in at municipal recycling stations. However, if the product value is not sufficient
to be attractive for the existing market, then the value must be added, and a market must be created. There is a great deal still to
learn about what it takes to create value out of waste products and what the role of municipal waste companies is in that process. Our
findings indicate that unlocking the potential of waste (in this case, old bricks and waste electrical and electronic equipment) has
been far from straightforward. Value must be created through several activities, requiring collaboration between a range of actors as
well as new knowledge and business competencies. This contribution aims to open discussion on what it takes for waste management
companies to navigate the new complexities in the transition from waste to resource management.
... Подібна тенденція -зберігання старих та відпрацьованих виробів -має місце і в інших країнах. В Іспанії 73,9% респондентів зберігають вдома невеликі ІКТ-пристрої, що не використовуються [Bovea et al., 2018], а в Таїланді більше половини домогосподарств зберігали відпрацьовані електричні та електронні прилади вдома [Manomaivibool and Vassanadumrongdee, 2012]. ...
У навчальному посібнику викладено теоретичні положення та методичні основи циркулярної економіки як альтернативи лінійній моделі. Зокрема, висвітлено зміст сучасної концепції нової моделі в контексті ієрархії ключових стратегій, наведено загальну характеристику наукових шкіл, викладено основні методи вимірювання прогресу циркулярної економіки, окреслено інструменти та підходи дизайну виробів відповідно до нової моделі. Значну увагу приділено огляду інноваційних рішень у сфері розроблення біопластиків в Україні як екологічної альтернативи традиційним пластикам, а також питанням поводження з електронними відходами відповідно до принципів циркулярної моделі. Посібник призначений для студентів закладів вищої освіти ІІІ–IV рівнів акредитації всіх форм навчання і напрямів підготовки, а також для аспіратів та викладачів.
The handbook outlines the theoretical principles and methodological
foundations of a circular economy as an alternative to a linear model. In particular,
the content of a modern concept of the circular model in the context of a strategies
hierarchy is set out, the general characteristics of scientific schools are given, the
existing methods of measuring the progress of the circular economy are outlined,
and the available approaches of product design in line with the new model are
described. Considerable attention is paid to a review of novel solutions in the field
of bioplastics development in Ukraine as an ecological alternative to conventional
plastics, as well as to the issues of electronic waste management in compliance
with the principles of the circular model. The handbook is intended for students
of higher educational institutions of III–IV levels of accreditation of all forms of
education and areas of training, as well as for PhD students and university lecturers.
... However, the research was limited to Dubai. A total of 42.3% of the respondents stored their old mobile phones at home [1][2][3][4]83]. Previous studies pointed to the same behaviour, demonstrating the vital nature of this behaviour and the urgency with which it must be handled. ...
Mobile phones are the most heavily utilised electronic devices on a global scale. Since they are relatively smaller than other electronic devices, unlike other electronic waste (e-waste), they are not disposed of properly. Hence, this study examines the factors influencing mobile phone users’ overall intention to recycle their mobile phones. The factors used originate from the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), but additional factors were also included, namely, perceived benefits and data security, to allow for a more in-depth analysis of customer behaviour. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyse 601 results from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through a self-administered online survey. The results demonstrate that perceived benefits (whether environmental or financial) and perceived behavioural control possess the most statistically significant positive effects on the UAE mobile phone users’ intention to participate in reverse supply chain (RSC) processes such as refurbishing or recycling. The impacts of attitude and subjective norms were the second most positive influences. Meanwhile, only 7% of UAE mobile phone users were significantly impacted by data security in participating in RSC processes. Additionally, recycling intention had no noticeable mediation effect on the relationship among the TPB variables and the extended variables (namely, data security and perceived benefits) and mobile phone recycling behaviour. The study offers confidence to industrial players in implementing these particular factors in their reverse supply chain management (RSCM) systems to influence more users to return end-of-life (EOL) or end-of-use (EOU) mobile phones, which could, in return, assist in resource preservation and environmental protection.
... Last, and linked to the high cost of any treatment in our RCT to collect retired phones, we conducted a cost-benefit analysis to compare the cost of collecting the mobile phones against the environmental savings calculated with a life-cycle and multi-regional input-output analysis Cabernard et al., 2019). We focus on mobile phones, as they are not only one of the most commonly owned personal electronic devices, but also the personal electronic device with one of the shortest lifespan in many high-income countries, including Switzerland (Thiébaud(-Müller et al., 2018), Germany (Prakash et al., 2016), Spain (Bovea et al., 2018), and the United Kingdom (Ongondo and Williams, 2011). ...
Mobile phones are one of the most commonly owned personal electronic devices and they contain about 15 different metals, mostly extracted with severe negative environmental externalities. Sourcing metals from retired mobile phones, i.e. urban mining, could alleviate these effects. In this study, we analyse the viability of urban mining in Switzerland using a representative survey of 2,500 Swiss respondents and an experiment with 15,000 employees of a Swiss institution. We estimate that there are around seven million unused phones with embedded gold worth USD 10 million in Switzerland. People do not particularly value their retired phones: 22% do not know why they keep it, and 40% said they are willing to sell their old device for less than USD 5. We further find that while informational treatments do not change recycling rates, reducing transaction costs of recycling double return rates from 2.1% to 5.5%. Lastly, while urban mining is not economically viable if we only consider the market value of embedded metals, it is profitable when taking into account the environmental cost of producing a new mobile device with metals from a primary mine.
... For instance, researchers have critiqued the dominant formulation of circular economy as conceptually unsound and devoid of consumer perspective (Blum et al., 2020). Similarly, past research on environmental behavior is found to be fragmented and lacking conceptual integrity (Larson et al., 2015), with heavy focus on disposal behavior (Bovea et al., 2018). In this backdrop, some researchers recognize that the two approaches though distinct, are rather complementary (Geiger et al., 2018). ...
The current study aims to investigate the role of cultural values in shaping Sustainable consumption behavior in a non‐Western setting. The primary data on cultural orientation and consumption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products is collected from about 347 Indian consumers. Four consumption culture dimensions—Environmental Fatalism, Comfort‐centric Outlook, Spiritual Outlook, and Techno‐criticism—were derived from primary data using factor analysis. Consumption culture dimensions are shown to have a direct influence on sustainable consumption behavior and indirect influence through personal environmental stewardship. Environmental Fatalism and Comfort‐centric Outlook showed negative relationship, while Spiritual Outlook had a positive relationship with Sustainable Consumption Behavior—Techno‐criticism was found to be insignificant. Further analysis revealed that Personal Environmental Stewardship partially mediates the relationship between consumption culture dimensions and sustainable consumption behavior. The study findings extend the existing theoretical knowledge by offering a model that can be leveraged to validate the influence of cultural variables, including general attitudes toward waste and technology, on sustainable consumption behavior of high environmental impacts and spanning multiple consumption phases. Results from our study provide practical insights for educators, marketers, campaign managers and religious leaders to develop pedagogical practice and design culturally‐relevant messaging to activate norms relevant for pro‐environmental behaviors. The current study is among the first to focus on (i) an impact‐based operationalization of sustainable consumption behavior and (ii) the consumption area of electronics. Further, the current study also contributes to a rather nascent stream of research embedded in non‐Western contexts.
... The survey was performed to investigate the current state of consumer awareness and behavior around WB disposal and recycling in Sydney, NSW, Australia. The questionnaire was prepared based on recommendations by Alreck and Settle (1995) and previous waste management studies by Islam et al. (2016), , , Pérez-Belis et al. (2015), and Bovea et al. (2018).Lately, Islam et al. (2021) reported that family size, age, income, gender, level of education, occupation, and type of residence were the main socio-economic variables responsible for e-waste disposal behavior. E-waste is directly connected with the types of batteries considered in this study, and except for the last two, all other variables were included in the study. ...
Consumer behavior is a critical consideration for the development of sustainable waste management systems, including waste batteries, which pose a serious threat to human health and the environment if disposed of improperly. This study investigates the consumers’ perspective on the waste battery collection and recycling behaviors in Australia, and analyses their implications for the development of recycling schemes. The results show that, although general awareness exists among consumers about the negative impacts of improper disposal, this awareness was not reflected during the disposal of waste batteries among the participants. Insufficient knowledge about the waste battery collection points and convenience were the most important factors affecting the inappropriate disposal behavior from most of the consumers. Over 50% of participants were unaware of the collection points for waste batteries. The most-preferred battery collection systems involved a deposit return system similar to that used for bottle recycling in the state of New South Wales (NSW) or collection at supermarkets/retailers. The most preferred methods for providing an incentive to recycle batteries were “old-for-new” battery swaps, “vouchers that could be used for other items in a store,” and “cash payments.” Several policy implications have been highlighted from this pioneering study that could shape the future development of sustainable waste battery management systems in Australia.
... Despite the importance of PfR in terms of contribution to waste prevention goals and the wide range of potential addressed products, this stage is not frequently discussed in literature and most of the case studies focus on PfR of electric and electronic equipment (Boldoczki et al., 2020;Bovea et al., 2016Bovea et al., , 2018Coughlan and Fitzpatrick, 2020;Johnson et al., 2020;Pini et al., 2019;Zacho et al., 2018a), whereas other studies analyse textile waste (Muthu, 2015). However, PfR is of interest for such municipal waste fractions as clothing and textiles, furniture, bicycles, paint, mattresses, toys, books, etc. whose end-of-waste criteria can be achieved through sorting, checking and testing, transporting, cleaning or repairing, storing, moving and pricing operations, which in turn should be justified by actual reuse (Gusmerotti et al., 2019). ...
The paper illustrates a model to support waste management (WM) operators of municipal solid waste (MSW) services. This study proposes a framework to evaluate the potential of preparation for reuse (PfR) as strategy to jointly decrease social, environmental and economic impacts and meet the legal targets on waste management. As general indicators to evaluate the reusability of products do not exist yet, the aim of this study is the definition of a comprehensive indicator, which may be calculated for each product category by waste collection operators. The proposed reusability indicator includes one coefficient evaluating the potential for reuse, and three impact indicators for the assessment of social, environmental and economic performances. The indicator can be calculated by using real data, gathered by the waste collection operators in collaboration with reuse centres and referred to previous years. Hence, the proposed methodology allows waste collection operators to evaluate the potential consequences of the reuse strategy on their MSW collection system to monitor and disclose to public the impacts related to reuse activities, facilitating the achievement of sustainability in the WM sector.
Graphical abstract
[Formula: see text]
The establishment of a circular economy and the integration of all stakeholders within it require a shared understanding and alignment of objectives between customers and manufacturers. In addition, it involves the design of products that facilitate component replacement. In the chosen case study, an electric tricycle manufacturer for mail delivery opted to implement a comprehensive refurbishment process. The company successfully uses reused components to overcome supply bottlenecks. Positioning itself as a pioneer and advocate for the circular economy, the company aims to set new standards through innovation. It emphasises that this economic model is viable and should be pursued, even if it results in a zero-sum game. The primary drivers identified for this initiative are the environment and individual responsibility. The company culture and a return programme initiated by a major customer also played crucial roles. Despite the fact that the second life programme currently does not cover its costs, it has created numerous opportunities. However, the company is steering this business concept beyond its financial objectives. Their mission is to transform the company towards a circular economy, significantly reducing waste. Consequently, the company has achieved very good results, saving 50% of grey energy and reusing 21 tonnes of materials annually.
Das Recycling von städtischem Abfall hat sich zu einer zentralen Säule umweltbewusster Praktiken in sowohl entwickelten als auch sich entwickelnden Ländern entwickelt. Allgemein bekannt ist, dass unsere Produktions- und Konsummuster erheblich zur Menge des von der Gesellschaft erzeugten Abfalls beitragen. Während die Abfallproduktion in wohlhabenden Ländern stabilisiert wird, produzieren Länder mit niedrigem und mittlerem Einkommen weiterhin mehr städtischen Abfall pro Kopf als die entwickelten Länder. Aufgrund seiner großen städtischen Bevölkerung und der weit verbreiteten Konsumnormen gilt Indien als wirtschaftliche und kulturelle Drehscheibe. Dennoch zählt eine Analyse der Weltbank Indien zu den zehn größten Produzenten von städtischem Feststoffabfall weltweit (Weltbank, 2020; Vijayan et al., 2023).
Yong et al. (2019) betonte, dass die Entstehung von Elektroschrott inzwischen ein bedeutendes Problem in allen Ländern der Welt darstellt, vor allem, weil die schädlichen Elemente und chemischen Substanzen negative Auswirkungen auf die Umwelt und die menschliche Gesundheit haben können. Diese gefährlichen Substanzen, wie Blei, Arsen, Cadmium, Quecksilber, Kathodenstrahlröhren, Chrom und polybromierte Biphenyle, sind bei unsachgemäßer Handhabung sowohl für die Umwelt als auch für die Gesundheit des Menschen schädlich (Abd-Mutalib et al., 2021; Batoo et al, 2022; Ojha, 2020; Kwatra, Pandey & Sharma, 2014; Najmi et al., 2020; Shar et al., 2020; Sharma et al., 2020). Darüber hinaus setzt Elektroschrott Treibhausgase und ozonabbauende Stoffe frei. Beispielsweise enthalten sowohl Kühlschränke als auch Klimaanlagen Chlorfluorkohlenwasserstoffe (FCKW, Freon), die erheblich zur globalen Erwärmung und zum Ozonabbau beitragen. Mit dem Anstieg des Ozonabbaus erhöht sich die UV-Strahlung auf der Erdoberfläche, was das Risiko für Hautkrebs deutlich steigert, warnt das Ministerium für Umwelt in Malaysia (2023).
Auf der anderen Seite ist Elektroschrott als Quelle für Sekundärrohstoffe von hohem Wert, darunter Gold, Silber, Platin und Palladium sowie Eisen, Kupfer, Aluminium und Kunststoffe, die extrahiert und verkauft werden können (Leoi, 2023; Widmer et al., 2005). Laut Widmer et al. (2005) stellt die Rückgewinnung dieser Materialien aus Elektroschrott eine wirtschaftlich rentable Unternehmung dar. Da im Elektroschrott eine große Menge an Edelmetallen enthalten ist, bedeutet die Rückgewinnung von Elektroschrott einen lukrativen wirtschaftlichen Vorteil. Sie reduziert die Ausgaben für teure und knappe Ressourcen, die für die Herstellung neuer elektronischer Geräte benötigt werden (Isernia et al., 2019).
Ein großes Problem bei der Verwertung von Elektroschrott stellt die Zurückhaltung der Verbraucher dar, sich aktiv an Recyclingmaßnahmen zu beteiligen. Wie Kumar (2019) feststellt, werden fast 75 % alter Elektronikgeräte weiterhin in Haushalten gelagert, was den Recyclingprozess erheblich behindert. Ähnliche Herausforderungen bestehen bei anderen Abfallarten, wie zum Beispiel bei Plastik (Khan et al., 2019) und Lebensmittelabfällen (Russell et al., 2017), bei denen die Mitwirkung der Verbraucher entscheidend für den Erfolg von Recyclingmaßnahmen ist. In Deutschland gibt es schon seit Jahren Mülltrennung, doch noch immer werden diese Abfälle nur getrennt voneinander verbrannt. Dennoch befindet sich die Forschung zu den Einstellungen der Verbraucher gegenüber dem Recycling von Elektroschrott – insbesondere in Entwicklungsländern – noch in einem frühen Stadium (Ikhlayel, 2018; Nguyen et al., 2019).
Das vorliegende Arbeitspapier zielt darauf ab, mit einem kombinierten Modell allgemeiner Recyclingpraktiken, dem Faktor Bequemlichkeit und der Theorie des geplanten Verhaltens die Hauptfaktoren zu untersuchen, die die Bereitschaft und das Verhalten von Haushalten in einer Entwicklungsländerregion beim Recycling von Elektroschrott beeinflussen. Sie baut auf der Veröffentlichung von Vijayan et al. (2023) auf.
Die Arbeit stellt etablierte Trends im Bereich des Elektroschrott-Recyclings in Frage. Erstens bietet sie einen soliden theoretischen Rahmen, der die Verhaltenskomponenten des Elektroschrott-Recyclings in die Theorie des geplanten Verhaltens integriert, insbesondere durch die Berücksichtigung von Gewohnheiten und Bequemlichkeit (Vijayan et al., 2023). Aus sozialer Perspektive betrachtet, erfordert das Recycling die Zusammenarbeit von Regierung, Wirtschaft und Einzelpersonen, um den aktuellen Schwerpunkt auf Entsorgung zu überwinden und stattdessen die Prinzipien der Rückgewinnung (Tripathi und Shukla, 2016) – reduzieren, wiederverwenden und recyceln – zu verfolgen (Narayana, 2009; Talyan et al., 2008). Diese Arbeit reagiert auf den Bedarf nach weiterführender Forschung, wie Menschen Elektroschrott recyceln (Kumar, 2019). Es ist eine Basis für neue Konzepte im Umweltschutz und Nachhaltigkeit. Investitionen in Umweltschutz und Nachhaltigkeit bedürfen guter Analyse und gezielter Umsetzung.
Zudem betonen Wang et al. (2011), dass Recyclinggewohnheiten die entscheidendste Rolle beim Recyclingverhalten von Elektroschrott spielen und als unverzichtbare Pflicht für den langfristigen Aufbau eines Elektroschrott-Managements anerkannt werden sollten. Otto et al. (2018) schlagen vor, dass soziale Ansätze – wie Umweltengagement, Gewohnheiten, Normen und Motivationen – im Vergleich zu strukturellen Maßnahmen wie Sammelcontainern und Abholungen am Straßenrand eine größere Bedeutung bei der Kostensenkung des Elektroschrott-Recyclings haben könnten.
Darüber hinaus sind junge Konsumenten, die häufig als Frühanwender bei Konsum, Entsorgung und Management von Elektroschrott auftreten, unverhältnismäßig stark für den Anstieg dieses Problems verantwortlich. Ihre Perspektiven und Handlungen werden jedoch in umweltbezogenen Studien selten berücksichtigt (Khan et al., 2019).
Während es einige Literatur und Konzepte über das Recycling von Elektroschrott gibt, konzentriert sich der Großteil davon auf spezifische Länder und Regionen, wie die USA oder China. Angesichts der unverhältnismäßig großen Menge an Elektronikmüll, die in Deutschland anfällt, schließt diese Studie eine wichtige Wissenslücke, wie Recyclingmotive und -praktiken der deutschen Bevölkerung zu untersuchen sind.
Secondhand purchasing, once associated primarily with financially marginalized individuals driven by economic necessity, has now emerged as a popular choice even among affluent consumers with sustainability concerns. This significant shift in consumer behavior underscores the urgent need for a comprehensive review that consolidates the fragmented literature on secondhand consumption, integrating its theoretical foundations and intellectual structure. In response to this imperative, our research, utilizing a theory‐context‐characteristics‐methodology framework, fills this critical gap and sets a pioneering precedent as the first systematic literature review on this topic. Through a content analysis of 105 publications from 59 journals spanning over three decades, our findings unveil more than 70 influential factors shaping secondhand purchases and consumptions. Moreover, our research illuminates noteworthy trends in theories, contextual considerations, consumer traits, and methodological approaches, offering a holistic view of the past, present, and future thematic developments in secondhand consumption research. Scholars will find these insights invaluable for positioning their future studies. Furthermore, we outline compelling directions for future research, proposing a deeper exploration of consumer values, social influences, advertising appeals, religiosity, and green consumerism to unlock novel avenues for understanding and strengthening consumer motivations for secondhand products. By shedding light on this vibrant and evolving field, our research not only fills a critical void but also paves the way for meaningful contributions to the expanding realm of secondhand consumption.
The increasing number of kitchen and bathroom appliances has resulted in the production of a large quantity of electronic waste (e-waste). To identify the various factors that influence consumers’ decision to participate in formal recycling, the PLS-SEM method was used to test hypotheses based on behavioral reasoning theory and personal values theory. The results show that (1) attitudes and reasons are the main factors influencing consumers’ intention to participate in formal e-waste recycling, with the exception of “Reason against”; (2) consumer values and consumer reasoning have a significant impact on consumer attitudes toward e-waste recycling; and (3) publicity and education positively moderate the effect of consumer value on their attitude toward e-waste recycling and negatively moderate the effect of consumer reasoning on intention. This study provides new theoretical support for governments and organizations in understanding the underlying mechanisms that influence consumers’ willingness to participate in the formal recycling of e-waste.
The establishment and operation of a formal recycling system for waste electrical and electronic equipment is an important measure to reduce environmental hazards and improve the recycling of resources, but how to incorporate self-employed maintainers into the system has formed an important research gap. Based on the perspective of extended producer responsibility, we argue that self-employed maintainers are required to assume the corresponding environmental responsibility for the environmental externality caused by informal maintenance activities. Using qualitative structural analysis techniques of system dynamics approach with quantitative simulation analysis techniques, we construct an incentive model for self-employed maintainers' participation in formal recycling system, based on which we propose four incentive strategies. A simulation analysis is further conducted by using the case of waste mobile phones recycling in Qingdao to verify the effectiveness of our incentive model and strategies.
The growing problem of e-waste has compelled countries globally to manage e-waste through economic instruments. Economic instruments refer to monetary mechanisms that aim at the reduction of e-waste by levying tax or charging fee on e-waste volume generated. Regardless of numerous benefits of economic instruments of waste management (e.g. promotes recycling, controls waste generation, increases revenue generation), they are restricted from being implemented due to reasons like less government support, weak policy structure, unawareness among consumers, and poor Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system. This practice is common in developing nations, unlike developed countries. These instruments can serve as vehicles of revenue generation in developing countries and in management of e-waste if endorsed properly.
However, the predicament about taking charge of responsibilities by all stakeholders is challenging as the e-waste regulations have been issued by different countries related to management, collection, and discarding, but the physical and financial approaches to manage the same by integrating all stakeholders are yet not clear to stakeholders, especially the producers and purchasers of e-products. In this chapter, the authors have tried to study the economic instruments for e-waste in reference to responsibilities listed under the EPR principle for producers. The chapter also discusses how financing for e-waste supply chain management in other countries is operationalized by the concerned agencies for e-waste wherein the collection of some fees from the end-users helps in improved recycling of e-waste.
With the vast increase in global e-waste, e-waste management is becoming increasingly critical. China produces a large amount of e-waste every year, but the recycling rate is minimal. To avoid causing severe environmental pollution and affecting human health, the Chinese government has focused on recycling e-wastes. E-waste contains precious metals and critical minerals, which are misplaced resources and have recycling value. We combined the incentive system with the smart e-waste collecting system and constructed a set of incentive measures suitable for China's smart e-waste collection system, which is conducive to enhancing the e-waste recovery rate and is applicable. The existing smart e-waste collection system adopts a single economic incentive method. It faces fierce competition from unauthorized informal recyclers, resulting in a small number of users and a failure to fully utilize its advantages. In the reverse logistics of e-waste recycling, consumers are the starting point of product recycling. By analyzing the characteristics and determinants of Chinese users' recycling behavior, this study selected appropriate incentives for a smart e-waste collection system to satisfy Chinese consumers' perceptions of end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment. The incentive system is based on economic incentives, including currency, reward points, and tax incentives, and combines negative incentives, mainly fines. Rewards and punishments are employed simultaneously to achieve long-term and sustainable incentive effects. The incentive system is based on the convenient infrastructure of the smart e-waste collection system, and its financial model must be shared by multiple stakeholders from the government, smart e-waste systems, and manufacturers.
Purpose
With the rapid increase in the consumption of electrical and electronic innovations, responsible management and recycling of electronic waste (e-waste) or waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has been a significant concern for the governments, stakeholders, researchers and industry practitioners around the world. Consumer awareness, disposal behaviour and perception are chief facets of designing sustainable management strategies. Although researchers have widely studied e-waste over many years, the research focusing on consumer awareness about e-waste recycling has gained momentum recently. This paper aims to systematise the existing literature and explore future research prospects on household e-waste sorting behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
Web of science (WoS) core collection was searched using selected keywords to identify relevant articles published from 2001 to 2021. The search resulted in 1,156 research articles published from 2001 to 2021. After a detailed study, 85 articles were shortlisted for in-depth review. The review was conducted based on global trends, top journals, most prolific authors, most active e-waste research countries, and institutions centring on consumer participation in e-waste disposal and recycling behaviour. The present research has also identified around eleven factors that seem to have a bearing on consumer behaviour towards storage, disposal and recycling of e-waste.
Findings
E-waste research has gained increased attention in the last five years. The majority of the studies has focused on motivational factors and ignore the risks associated with handling e-waste. The present study reports the pertinent issue of lack of awareness among the masses about e-waste handling and disposal. Thus, bringing to the fore the lack of awareness programmes and initiatives. The analysis presents the gaps in the literature and future research agendas.
Originality/value
The review article will help in providing an in-depth understanding of consumer behaviour towards storage, disposal and recycling of e-waste and delineates the future direction of research that may be undertaken in this field of study.
This study investigated the factors that influence the safe disposal intention and behavior of consumers, considering the mobile phone as an example. Specific hypotheses linking the factors that influence safe disposal intention and behavior with the support of extant literature on theories of reasoned action and planned behavior were developed. A questionnaire was designed based on the following factors: awareness, convenience, subjective norms, producer interventions, and regulations that influence the intentions and behavior of consumers in the safe disposal of e-waste. The data was collected by conducting a cross-sectional survey in India. The collected data was analyzed for descriptive statistics and measurement properties and further tested the hypotheses using partial least squares-structural equations modeling (PLS-SEM). All the measures used in the study were found to have satisfactory reliability and validity testing. The findings of hypotheses testing suggest that the factors such as awareness (Std. coefficient = 0.109 with p value < 0.05 level), convenience (Std. coefficient = 0.341 with p value < 0.01 level), subjective norms (Std. coefficient = 0.242 with p value < 0.01 level), producer interventions (Std. coefficient = 0.228 with p value < 0.01 level), and regulations (Std. coefficient = 0.148 with p value < 0.01 level) were found to significantly impact safe disposal intentions. However, the direct effect of regulation on safe disposal behavior was found to be non-significant (Std. coefficient = 0.091). Therefore, the significant finding of our study is that without the intention of behaving in a certain manner, the direct regulations may not influence the consumers to behave as intended. Our study’s results emphasize two areas that may trigger the consumer’s intentions for safe disposal of e-waste. First, the social norms, and second, the importance of producer responsibility in creating the required reverse logistics infrastructure and clear communication to customers for the safe disposal of e-waste.
Editor Managing Review: Xin Tong Funding information This work has been carried out thanks to the project with reference UJI-B2019-27 from the Universitat Jaume I. Funding for open access charge: CRUE-Universitat Jaume I. Abstract Despite the fact that one of the goals of the circular economy is that products can be used for as long as possible, existing data show that the number of years that small household appliances are used until they are replaced is not increasing and is even decreasing in some cases. This work focuses on product attachment as a strategy to slow down the replacement of the product and, consequently, to lengthen product life, thereby preventing psychological obsolescence. To this end, a representative sample of 70 small household appliances with attachment-related characteristics was analyzed to identify which of the 38 attachment strategies listed in the emotional durability design nine tools they contain. As a result, the most frequently used strategies are "design for animacy," "design for variability and modularity," and "connection or community belonging." Furthermore, 13 of the 38 strategies do not appear in this type of product and the strategies vary to a greater or lesser extent depending on the type of appliance. Therefore, there is still a lot of room at the design level to exploit attachment in this type of product, which could be very useful for business models based on life extension services. Moreover, the method applied to search for products on the web and to assign attachment strategies can also be used for other sectors and products.
Electronic waste, or e-waste, is the fastest growing category of waste in developed countries and a threat to the environment and human health. The extension of electronic products life cycles could reduce the use of finite resources, the emission of pollutants, and the amount of waste disposed of in the landfills, delaying the impacts of disposal and product replacement. Consumers’ decisions affect the environmental impact of a product since deliberate consumer effort is necessary to extend and fully explore the potential life cycle of a product. The objective of this article is to investigate current consumer practices in the repair of electronic products. To achieve this goal, we analyze recently published research presenting surveys and case studies about the repair of electronic products. The literature review identified a range of barriers and motivations that influence the decision to repair. We also examined how institutional initiatives to address product reparability, such as governmental directives, are responding to consumer practices. Our results emphasize the need for an environment that promotes and enables more sustainable behaviors. We discuss the necessity to consider not only technical aspects but also intangible aspects in public perception, such as the role of perceived obsolescence in the search for a more circular economy.
To tackle the alarming increase in e-waste or end-of-life (EoL) electronic products, consumer behavior towards the end of their useful life needs to be thoroughly studied. End users or consumers are the starting point where e-waste starts its journey into several paths within the circular economy (CE), such as repair, reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling. E-waste often ends up in landfill due to improper disposal of e-waste with household waste by consumers. Studying consumer behavior allows for the identification of appropriate approaches to achieve CE. Numerous academic journal papers have been published concerning consumers' e-waste-related knowledge and awareness, and behavior on consumption, disposal, storage, recycling, and repair. Substantial knowledge gap exists around how understandings of consumer behavior around e-waste may be integrated into the CE model. This article aims to reduce this gap by reviewing 109 research papers published in international peer-reviewed journals identified in the Web of Science (WoS) core collection database, using content analysis methodology to analyze and review the articles. The study aims to provide invaluable input for developing a more consumer-centric CE framework for both policymakers and researchers seeking to advance knowledge and implementation strategies around e-waste. This is one of the earliest systematic reviews of studies on consumer behavior around e-waste. The study results show that consumers' disposal and recycling behaviors are the two main areas of research interest in the studies reviewed. In contrast, reuse and repair behavior were investigated to a lesser extent. In this study, several research gaps and areas for future research are identified, along with suggestions for a CE framework focusing on the e-waste sector that, encompasses policy initiatives and business model innovations. The identified studies presented here offer a valuable starting point for researchers who are starting to work on consumer behavior-related e-waste research.
As researchers and policy makers explore ways to promote consumption decisions that are beneficial for consumers and sustainable for the environment, one important avenue is frequently overlooked: lengthening product lifespans via repair. If repairing products is able to have positive effects on consumers and the environment, then the motivations of repair decisions should be assessed to determine how to encourage the behavior. However, despite the importance of repair decisions for consumers and for the environment, little research has examined the usage stage of the product life cycle, especially in regards to repair propensity and its motivational factors. This research attempts to fill this gap by developing a repair propensity scale and investigating the market, product, and consumer factors related to repair propensity among consumers with higher and lower levels of repair propensity. Results show only three differences existed between the two samples: replacement cost and initial item cost was significant for the average repair propensity sample while attachment to a product was significant for the high repair propensity sample. For both samples, inconvenience of repair, stewardship and innovativeness were significantly related to repair propensity, with stewardship and innovativeness being the strongest predictors. All three categories of factors (market, product, consumer) contributed significantly to repair propensity. The findings of this study provide interesting insights into repair behavior which will be valuable to marketers and policy makers, especially those concerned with enhancing consumer well-being and environmental sustainability.
This paper examines consumers' awareness and perceptions towards mobile phone recycling and re-use. The results are based on a survey conducted in the city of Oulu, Finland, and analysed in the theoretical framework based on the theories of planned behaviour (TPB) and value-belief-norm (VBN). The findings indicate that consumers' awareness of the importance and existence of waste recovery system is high; however, awareness has not translated to recycling behaviour. The survey reveals that 55% of respondents have two or more unused mobile phones at homes. The more phones stored at homes, the more often reasons 'I don't know where to return' and/or 'have not got to do it yet' were mentioned. This indicates that proximity and the convenience of current waste management system are inadequate in promoting the return of small waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). To facilitate re-use, and the highest level of recovery, consumers will need to be committed to return end-of-use electronics to WEEE collection centres without delays. Further, the supply and demand of refurbished mobile phones do not meet at this moment in Finland due to consumer's storing habits versus expectations of recent features under guarantee and unrealistic low prizes. The study also points out that, in order to change current storing habits of consumers, there is an explicit need for more information and awareness on mobile phone collection in Finland, especially on regarding retailers' take-back.
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This paper investigates the collection channels of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE or e-waste) and household recycling behaviors in Taizhou city of China. Taking a questionnaire survey as the main approach, it explores the household generation of eighteen types of e-wastes and analyses the distribution of six disposal alternatives. Besides, it also assesses the determinants of choosing collection channels and evaluates households' attitudes in voluntary return of e-waste. The study found that informal collection is the primary disposal channel of urban household e-waste. A considerable proportion of the obsolete appliances are stored at home, given to others, or discarded, but the amount of e-waste flowing to formal collectors remains small. Compared with formal counterparts, informal collectors are advantageous in the aspects of collection scope, convenience of service, flexibility, and accessibility. An integrated collection system which includes the informal collectors and effective incentive schemes should be designed to fit with the characteristics of Chinese household disposal habits and the socioeconomic conditions.
Until now, only rough estimates were available for the number of televisions (TVs) added to the growing stockpile of obsolete
TVs by the June 2009 federally mandated digital transition. This event caused millions of Americans either to replace functioning
analog TVs with digital units and purchase cable or satellite service, or to purchase subsidized analog-to-digital converter
boxes. In this context, this paper makes two contributions based on results of a survey of 3,156 U.S. households conducted
between the end of December 2009 and January 2010. First, we estimate the number of analog TVs that were retired as a result
of the digital transition and we analyze the socioeconomic characteristics of the households affected. Second, we quantify
the volume of nine metals (antimony, cadmium, chromium, copper, gold, lead, palladium, silver, and zinc) contained in these
retired TVs. Our results are important to understand the e-waste consequences of the digital transition and to inform U.S.
e-waste policy.
Electronic waste (e-waste) has become the main contributor of lead to landfills in the United States. Households also store large volumes of e-waste, yet little is known about their willingness to recycle e-waste. This article starts filling this gap based on a 2004 mail survey of California households. Using multivariate models, the authors find that gender, education, convenience, and environmental beliefs but not income or political affiliation are key factors explaining the willingness to drop off e-waste at recycling centers. A comparison of an ordered probit with a semi-nonparametric extended ordered probit model of the survey responses shows that the latter better predicts less frequent answers. The results suggest targeting public education programs about recycling at teenagers or younger adults and making recycling more convenient for older adults; moreover, e-waste drop-off centers should first be created in communities that already offer curbside collection programs for conventional recyclable products.
To deal with the inadequate disposal of e-waste, many states have instituted bans on its disposal in municipal landfills. However, the effectiveness of e-waste bans does not seem to have been analyzed yet. This paper starts addressing this gap. Using data from a survey of U.S. households, we estimate multivariate logit models to explain past disposal behavior by households of broken/obsolete ("junk") cell phones and disposal intentions for "junk" TVs. Our explanatory variables include factors summarizing general awareness of environmental issues, pro-environmental behavior in the past year, attitudes toward recycling small electronics (for the cell phones model only), socio-economic and demographic characteristics, and the presence of state e-waste bans. We find that California's Cell Phone Recycling Act had a significant and positive impact on the recycling of junk cell phones; however, state disposal bans for junk TVs seem to have been mostly ineffective, probably because they were poorly publicized and enforced. Their effectiveness could be enhanced by providing more information about e-waste recycling to women, and more generally to adults under 60. Given the disappointing performance of policies implemented to-date to enhance the collection of e-waste, it may be time to explore economic instruments such as deposit-refund systems.
Using concepts from environmental psychology and economics, we investigate U.S. households' willingness to engage in a form of pro-environmental behavior: recycling electronic waste (e-waste) at drop-off locations. We rely on rich dataset from a 2006 national survey of U.S. households (N = 2136). Our internal variables include a modified version of the New Ecological Paradigm scale, a moral norm scale based on Schwartz's norm-activation model, and indicators of social pressure for recycling. External variables consist of detailed socio-demographic characteristics. Our logit model shows that external variables do not help characterizing people with e-waste recycling experience, except that they tend to have larger families or to be over 60 years old. However, knowing that e-waste contains potentially toxic materials, recycling conventional materials at work or at school, and especially having strong moral norms helps explain e-waste recycling behavior. Using a generalized ordered logit model, we then show that the most important variables for explaining household willingness to recycle e-waste are internal variables, followed by recycling convenience, knowledge of the potential toxicity of e-waste, prior e-waste recycling experience, as well as gender and marital status; education, age, and ethnicity play only a minor role, while knowledge of e-waste laws, availability of curbside recycling for domestic waste, and income are not statistically significant. Our results suggest that e-waste recycling can be stimulated by promoting moral norms, educating the public about the benefits of recycling e-waste, and making e-waste recycling more convenient but other measures will likely be necessary to tackle the e-waste problem.
Waste generated from electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) is increasing due to the demand for information and communication technologies (ICT), rapid product obsolescence, coupled with rapid economic growth, urbanisation and technology advancement. Developed countries have reacted actively to manage this waste, while developing countries are still in the early stages of recognising this problem. This paper gauges Jordanian household WEEE awareness levels, their electric and electronic equipment (EEE) consumption patterns, and estimates the lifetime of EEE using questionnaire and interview methods. Based on these findings, the WEEE generation rate in Jordan is predicted.
A material flow study on five types of household electrical and electronic equipment, namely television, washing machine, air conditioner, refrigerator and personal computer (TWARC) was conducted to assist the Government of Hong Kong to establish an e-waste take-back system. This study is the first systematic attempt on identifying key TWARC waste disposal outlets and trade practices of key parties involved in Hong Kong. Results from two questionnaire surveys, on local households and private e-waste traders, were used to establish the material flow of household TWARC waste. The study revealed that the majority of obsolete TWARC were sold by households to private e-waste collectors and that the current e-waste collection network is efficient and popular with local households. However, about 65,000tonnes/yr or 80% of household generated TWARC waste are being exported overseas by private e-waste traders, with some believed to be imported into developing countries where crude recycling methods are practiced. Should Hong Kong establish a formal recycling network with tight regulatory control on imports and exports, the potential risks of current e-waste recycling practices on e-waste recycling workers, local residents and the environment can be greatly reduced.
The volume of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is growing rapidly worldwide, making its management difficult; therefore, this should be improved as a matter of urgency. WEEE includes both essential household appliances [including televisions, refrigerators, and washing machines; but not air conditioners, where the consumption mode is more like information, communication and technology (ICT)] ICT equipment (also called high-tech household appliances). In the present study, Baoding, a medium-sized, prefecture-level city in north central China with a population of 11 million, including 1.1 million urban residents, was selected as a representative city for an investigation of recycling behaviors. A valid sample size of 346 households in Baoding was investigated, and categorized into various income and educational levels. The results showed that the major reason for discarding WEEE was malfunction of the appliance, accounting for 52% of disposals. Surveyed households with either high income or good education were more likely to consume high-tech household appliances, attracted by advanced technology, versatile functions or flexibility of use. Personal computer ownership rates were highest in households with a high income and good education-1.2 and 0.9 per home respectively. WEEE was most often sold to peddlers or hawkers from where the WEEE flowed into the second-hand market to be refurbished or repaired, and then re-sold. However, 56.3% of residents in the college community were in support of charging consumers for disposal and 61.7% were in support of including a disposal surcharge in the purchase price of new products-a percentage approximately three times that for high-income residents. Thus, high educational level appears to be currently the most important factor in raising the potential of a household's willingness to pay for WEEE treatment cost. The findings of this study can be used to develop sound recycling systems for WEEE in mainland China.
The problem of electronic waste (e-waste) is actual at the moment and its importance is going to grow taking into account technological changes producing a speed rise of new and improved products which stimulates steady consumption and disposal of old equipment (unsustainable consumption), generating huge amounts of e-waste and increasing a natural recourses depletion problem. In the whole life cycle of electronic equipment all stakeholders are concerned with this problem. European countries are implementing e-waste management systems, where the responsibilities of producers, importers and recyclers are determined. Consumers are playing two roles in the life cycle of e-waste: that of a customer and e-waste holder. That is why the e-waste management system can not be efficient if consumers are not actively involved in it, if they have no environmental awareness and information about it. The aim of this paper is to analyse whether in the niche market consumer can influence and contribute to mitigation of an e-waste problem. What are the main factors determining the willingness to consume in more sustainable manner and to participate in the e-waste management system? Key words: e-waste, sustainable consumption, consumer.
Between 1980 and 1997, municipal waste in OECD countries increased by around 40%. This paper outlines the very real negative effects of this increase and then introduces the two main European Union policies that have been established to address this problem: a landfill directive and legislation on extended producer responsibility (EPR).
The paper then describes and compares the four alternative strategies to reducing end-of-life waste within the context of extended producer responsibility: namely repairing, reconditioning, remanufacturing or recycling. It also introduces a more robust definition of remanufacturing, validated by earlier research, which differentiates it from repair and reconditioning.
From a consideration of the different factors involved, it concludes that remanufacturing may well be the best strategy. This is because it enables the embodied energy of virgin production to be maintained, preserves the intrinsic 'added value' of the product for the manufacturer and enables the resultant products to be sold 'as new' with updated features if necessary. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Structured additive regression models are perhaps the most commonly used class of models in statistical applications. It includes, among others, (generalized) linear models, (generalized) additive models, smoothing spline models, state space models, semiparametric regression, spatial and spatiotemporal models, log-Gaussian Cox processes and geostatistical and geoadditive models. We consider approximate Bayesian inference in a popular subset of structured additive regression models, "latent Gaussian models", where the latent field is Gaussian, controlled by a few hyperparameters and with non-Gaussian response variables. The posterior marginals are not available in closed form owing to the non-Gaussian response variables. For such models, Markov chain Monte Carlo methods can be implemented, but they are not without problems, in terms of both convergence and computational time. In some practical applications, the extent of these problems is such that Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling is simply not an appropriate tool for routine analysis. We show that, by using an integrated nested Laplace approximation and its simplified version, we can directly compute very accurate approximations to the posterior marginals. The main benefit of these approximations is computational: where Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms need hours or days to run, our approximations provide more precise estimates in seconds or minutes. Another advantage with our approach is its generality, which makes it possible to perform Bayesian analysis in an automatic, streamlined way, and to compute model comparison criteria and various predictive measures so that models can be compared and the model under study can be challenged. Copyright (c) 2009 Royal Statistical Society.
Link to the thesis: http://www.user.tu-berlin.de/perrine.chancerel/
The demand for precious metals by manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment has increased significantly over the past few years. Although precious metal concentrations in appliances are very low, these metals have a high economic and environmental relevance compared to other substances present at much higher levels (for example iron, copper, plastics). This thesis aims at describing and quantifying the flows of small waste electrical and electronic equipment (sWEEE) in Germany and in the USA for the year 2007, as well as the flows of gold and palladium associated with the sWEEE. Although collection systems have been set up, in many cases sWEEE is not collected separately for recycling but instead is disposed of. Regarding treatment of sWEEE, the model differentiates between reuse and treatments carried out by the formal and informal sector (including illegal export of sWEEE). The material flows were quantified based on a combination of expansive experimental investigations and a review of the relevant literature. The results revealed that, in 2007, 370 000 to 430 000 tonnes of sWEEE were generated in Germany, containing 1.9 to 2.4 tonnes of gold and 580 to 720 kg of palladium. In the USA, 26 to 36 tonnes of gold and 9 to 12 tonnes of palladium were contained in the 3.1 to 4.3 million tonnes of sWEEE generated in 2007. In Germany, the collection rates are much higher (77% of the generated sWEEE is collected) than in the USA (30%). In the USA, 6% of the generated sWEEE is reused, whereas in Germany the reuse rate amounts to 3%. 72% of the gold contained in the sWEEE was discarded in Germany and therefore lost for the recycling economy. The discarding rate is around 75% for the USA. The economic value of the discarded gold and palladium in 2007 amounted to 34 to 44 million US-dollars in Germany and 466 to 714 million US-dollars in the USA. In conclusion, the recycling infrastructures in Germany and in the USA do not allow an efficient recovery of the precious metals. The losses are caused by the non-separated collection of sWEEE and by inappropriate treatment, for instance during pre-processing. The characteristics of the different types of sWEEE considerably influence the recovery of precious metals. This has to be considered by developing strategies to improve it. Besides the recommendations how to improve the system, some suggestions to improve the data collection for the conduction of further substance flow analyses were formulated. The applied methodology can be used to assess waste management systems and develop improvement strategies. The method is not only useful for assessing the recovery of valuable substances as presented in this thesis, but in a more general way allows a quantitative analysis of the destination of substances fed into a waste management system. Die Nachfrage nach Edelmetallen von Herstellern elektrischer und elektronischer Geräte ist in den letzten Jahren bedeutsam gestiegen. Obwohl die Edelmetallkonzentrationen in den Geräten sehr niedrig sind, sind diese Metalle wirtschaftlich und ökologisch relevant, verglichen mit anderen in höheren Konzentrationen enthaltenen Stoffen (z.B. Eisen, Kupfer, Kunststoffe). Das Ziel dieser Dissertation ist es, die Stoffflüsse von kleinen elektrischen und elektronischen Altgeräten (Kleingeräten) in Deutschland und in den USA bezogen auf das Jahr 2007 zu beschreiben, sowie die mit den Kleingeräten verbundenen Flüsse von Gold und Palladium zu quantifizieren. Obwohl Sammelsysteme für Kleingeräte existieren, werden Kleingeräte häufig nicht erfasst sondern im Restabfall entsorgt. Bezüglich der Verwertung von Kleingeräten unterscheidet das Modell Wiederverwendung und Behandlung durch den formellen und den informellen Sektor (inklusive illegalen Export von Kleingeräten). Die Stoffströme wurden, basierend auf einer Kombination von aufwendigen experimentellen Untersuchungen und Literaturauswertung, quantifiziert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass 370 000 bis 430 000 Tonnen von Kleingeräten 2007 in Deutschland angefallen sind. Sie beinhalteten 1,9 bis 2,4 Tonnen Gold und 580 bis 720 kg Palladium. In den USA befanden sich in den 2007 angefallenen 3,1 bis 4,3 Million Tonnen Altgeräten 26 bis 36 Tonnen Gold und 9 bis 12 Tonnen Palladium. In Deutschland sind die Sammelquoten deutlich höher (77%) als in den USA (30%). In den USA wurden 6% der angefallenen Kleingeräte wieder verwendet, während die Wiederverwendungsquote in Deutschland 3% beträgt. 72% des in den Kleingeräten beinhalteten Goldes ging deshalb für die Kreislaufwirtschaft verloren. Die Verlustquote beträgt in den USA ca. 75%. Der wirtschaftliche Wert des verlorenen Goldes und Palladium betrug 2007 34 bis 44 Million US-Dollar in Deutschland und 466 bis 714 Million US-Dollar in den USA. Die Recyclinginfrastrukturen in Deutschland und in den USA ermöglichen keine effiziente Rückgewinnung der Edelmetalle. Die Verluste werden durch die nicht-getrennte Erfassung der Kleingeräte und durch die ungeeignete Behandlung, insbesondere bei der Aufbereitung, verursacht. Die Charakteristika der Kleingeräte beeinflussen stark die Rückgewinnung der Edelmetalle. Das soll bei der Entwicklung von Verbesserungsstrategien betrachtet werden. Neben Empfehlungen zur Systemverbesserung wurden Vorschläge zur Verbesserung der Datenerfassung zur Durchführung weiterer Stoffflussanalysen formuliert. Die angewandte Methode kann benutzt werden, um Abfallwirtschaftsysteme zu bewerten und Verbesserungsstrategien zu entwickeln. Die Methode ist nicht nur für die Bewertung der Verwertung von Wertstoffen nützlich, sondern ermöglicht im Allgemeinen eine quantitative Analyse des Verbleibs der in einem Abfallmanagementsystem behandelten Stoffe.
This study presents a survey to identify current habits and practices regarding the repair and second-hand purchases of small household electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) in Spain, and to identify the profile of consumers who are more or less prone to this behavior. This can be useful for targeting future awareness campaigns to proper audiences that promote extending the usage life of EEE by repairing and through second-hand purchases. To this end, a survey was designed and conducted with a representative sample size of 400 valid responses obtained through telephone interviews. It allowed the identification of the most frequent small EEE in households, and consumer habits as regards replacement, repairs and second-hand purchases. Consumers used small household EEE for an average of 6.25 years; 9.56% of those interviewed had never repaired broken small household EEE, and only 0.75% had bought second-hand small household EEE at some time. The analysis of the relationship between consumer attitudes and their socio-economic characteristics using logit models indicated that older consumers and females were more prone to repair small household EEE, while older males with medium family incomes tended to purchase second-hand small household EEE more. Finally, consumers indicated that they considered it important that the design and labeling of small household EEE included aspects and information about their durability. The obtained results are useful for designing and targeting future awareness campaigns to proper audiences that promote extending the lifetime of EEE by repairing and second-hand purchases. These actions can help to achieve the minimum recovery targets for preparing for the reuse stated within the waste policy framework.
The European legal framework for Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) (Directive 2012/19/EU) prioritises reuse strategies against other valorisation options. Along these lines, this paper examines the awareness and perceptions of reusing small household EEE from the viewpoint of the different stakeholders involved in its end-of-life: repair centres, second-hand shops and consumers. Direct interviews were conducted in which an intended survey, designed specifically for each stakeholder, was answered by a representative sample of each one. The results obtained from repair centres show that small household EEE are rarely repaired, except for minor repairs such as replacing cables, and that heaters, toasters and vacuum cleaners were those most frequently repaired. The difficulty of accessing cheap spare parts or difficulties during the disassembly process are the commonest problems observed by repair technicians. The results obtained from second-hand shops show that irons, vacuum cleaners and heaters are the small household EEE that are mainly received and sold. The results according to consumers indicate that 9.6% of them take their small household EEE to be repaired, while less than 1% has ever bought a second-hand small household EEE. The main arguments for this attitude are they thought that the repair cost would be similar to the price of a new one (for repairs), and hygiene and cleaning reasons (for second-hand sales).
Consumer electronics are turning into consumable devices nowadays, and consumers generally show little inclination to repair broken products due to the lack of repair infrastructures and relative high repair costs. On the other hand, technical, operational, and economic barriers impede the growth of repair businesses. In this paper, we provide a look into the repair industry through an analysis of a survey conducted by a third-party repair service provider. 2170 repair technicians have participated in a survey consisting of 23 questions about repair challenges in their profession. At first, we take a look at the economic barriers that dissuade consumers from repairing products. Next, a demand-based repair service pricing framework is introduced. The optimal pricing levels are found based on the consumers’ repair demand. Finally, other aspects of repair businesses, e.g. repairability degree of consumer electronics and consumer expectations of repair services, are thoroughly investigated. As an example of findings, different types of consumer electronics are clustered based on the associated repair difficulties. Moreover, some insights are provided to promote the repair businesses.
Obsolescence is the wearing out of technical appliances. Planned obsolescence is often seen as an economic strategy to improve sales by reducing the lifespan of these appliances. Although there are a lot of public discussions about planned obsolescence, there is a lack of data available to support or contradict this hypothesis. The objective of this survey is to collect quantitative data about the maintenance and discarding history of five household appliances throughout their lifecycle in private households in Germany. The survey is an internet-based questionnaire. A total of 1075 respondents were recruited in Germany and included in the evaluation.
This paper describes the scope, methods, data, and results of a comprehensive quantitative analysis of generation, stock, and collection of used computers and monitors in the United States , specifically desktops, laptops, CRT monitors, and flat panel monitors in the decade leading up to 2010. Generation refers to used electronics coming directly out of use or postuse storage destined for disposal or collection, which encompasses a variety of organizations gathering used electronics for recycling or reuse. Given the lack of actual statistics on flows of used electronics, two separate approaches, the sales obsolescence method (SOM) and the survey scale-up method (SSUM), were used in order to compare the results attained and provide a range for estimated quantities. This study intentionally sought to capture the uncertainty in the estimates. To do so, uncertainty in each data set was incorporated at each stage using Monte Carlo simulations for SOM and establishing scenarios for SSUM. Considering the average results across both methods, we estimate that in 2010 the U.S. generated 130-164 thousand metric tons of used computers and 128-153 thousand tons of used monitors, of which 110-116 thousand tons of used computers and 105-106 thousand tons of used monitors were collected for further reuse, recycling, or export. While each approach has its strengths and weaknesses, both the SOM and the SSUM appear to be capable of producing reasonable ranges of estimates for the generation and collection of used electronics.
This paper is focused on characterising small waste electric and electronic equipment, specifically small household appliances, from two different points of views: disassembly properties and material identification. The sample for this characterisation was obtained from a selective collection campaign organised in Castellón de la Plana (Spain). A total amount of 833.7kg (749 units) of small waste electric and electronic equipment was collected, of which 23.3% by weight and 22.4% by units belonged to the subcategory household equipment. This subcategory, composed of appliances such as vacuum cleaners, toasters, sandwich makers, hand blenders, juicers, coffee makers, hairdryers, scales, irons and heaters, was first disassembled in order to analyse different aspects of the disassembly process for each equipment type: type of joints, ease of identification of materials, ease of access to joints for extracting components, ease of separation of components from the whole, uniformity of tools needed for the disassembly process and possibility of reassembly after disassembly. Results show that the most common joints used in these equipment types are snap-fits and screws, although some permanent joints have also been identified. Next, the material composition of each component of each appliance belonging to each equipment type was identified visually and with additional mechanical trials and testing. It can be observed that plastic and electric/electronic components are present in all the equipment types analysed and are also the material fractions that appear with higher percentages in the material composition: 41.1wt% and 39.1wt% for the plastic fraction and electric/electronic components, respectively. The most common plastics are: polypropylene (PP), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polycarbonate (PC), while the most common electric/electronic components are: cable, plug and printed circuit boards. Results also show that disassembly properties and material characterisation vary widely from one equipment type to another.
The United States lags other nations in adapting policy approaches that would stimulate cleaner consumption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by limiting the use of potentially toxic materials in electronics production. This study analyzes nationally-representative U.S. data from a unique web-based survey to investigate whether American households are willing to support greening the ICT devices by paying a premium for a green cell phone. Green cell phone does not contain hazardous materials and can be safely disposed with general municipal waste. A survey-based economic technique of contingent valuation was utilized to examine the relationship between socio-psychological and economic parameters for evaluating and explaining a stated willingness to pay a green phone premium, controlling for socio-economic and demographic characteristics. The findings indicate that respondents with higher scores on general environmental beliefs, greater engagement in pro-environmental behavior, and positive attitudes toward recycling small electronics are likely to be willing to pay a premium to purchase a green cell phone compared to a conventional cell phone with similar capabilities. This suggests that educating the public about benefits of electronics recycling, promoting pro-environmental norms, and encouraging pro-environmental behavior can help increase public support for implementing policies aimed at greening ICT production and consumption in the United Sates.
This study proposes a general methodology for assessing and estimating the potential reuse of small waste electrical and electronic equipment (sWEEE), focusing on devices classified as domestic appliances. Specific tests for visual inspection, function and safety have been defined for ten different types of household appliances (vacuum cleaner, iron, microwave, toaster, sandwich maker, hand blender, juicer, boiler, heater and hair dryer). After applying the tests, reuse protocols have been defined in the form of easy-to-apply checklists for each of the ten types of appliance evaluated. This methodology could be useful for reuse enterprises, since there is a lack of specific protocols, adapted to each type of appliance, to test its potential of reuse. After applying the methodology, electrical and electronic appliances (used or waste) can be segregated into three categories: the appliance works properly and can be classified as direct reuse (items can be used by a second consumer without prior repair operations), the appliance requires a later evaluation of its potential refurbishment and repair (restoration of products to working order, although with possible loss of quality) or the appliance needs to be finally discarded from the reuse process and goes directly to a recycling process. Results after applying the methodology to a sample of 87.7kg (96 units) show that 30.2% of the appliances have no potential for reuse and should be diverted for recycling, while 67.7% require a subsequent evaluation of their potential refurbishment and repair, and only 2.1% of them could be directly reused with minor cleaning operations. This study represents a first approach to the "preparation for reuse" strategy that the European Directive related to Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment encourages to be applied. However, more research needs to be done as an extension of this study, mainly related to the identification of the feasibility of repair or refurbishment operations.
This article assesses the potential and the limitations of Thailand's proposed policy which would have local governments buy back targeted waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) from households at designated locations. The proposal relies on the premise that a monetary incentive at the time of disposal is needed to gain participation from households which would otherwise sell to private waste dealers who purchase and then introduce WEEE into the pollution-causing informal recycling sector. To see whether the premise and the proposed policy were valid, a large-scale survey of 1529 households was conducted. This article reports these households’ past behavior in, and future preferences for the disposal of 10 particular WEEE items: televisions, digital cameras, portable media players, desktop printers, mobile phones, personal computers, refrigerators, air conditioners, fluorescent lamps, and dry-cell batteries, which were prioritized under the Thai WEEE Strategy. We also tested the effects of population density, distance to the hypothetical drop-off location, car ownership, product weight and the financial incentive offered on the respondents’ past decisions and future choices. The survey results show that creating a standardized program to buy back WEEE at designated drop-off locations has a potential of getting household WEEE introduced into the formal recycling sector. It could also help eliminate the psychological hurdle of parting with obsolete products and encourage their disposal. However, the program may not be enough to convince people to stop selling WEEE to waste dealers, especially if they had done so in the past. Based on the results, recommendations to improve the viability of the proposed policy and to direct and enhance future research are outlined.
The main objective of this paper is to characterise, both physically and chemically, waste electric and electronic toys, belonging to the category 7 of the Directive, 2012/19/UE, in order to obtain information about the generation and composition of this waste which is not widely found in the literature. For this, a campaign was designed with the aim of collecting a representative sample of waste toys in different schools in a Spanish town. Altogether 1014.25 kg of waste toys were collected, of which 31.83% corresponded to the electric and electronic fraction, which is the object of study. The collected wastes were divided into subcategories and a representative sample of each was one used to characterise them physically and chemically. Physical characterisation provided information about the materials they were made of, the electrical and electronic parts, fixing and assembly systems, and so forth. The results showed that the weight of a toy is comprised of 72.30% of plastics, 12.07% of electrical and electronic components, 4.47% of metals, and 11.15% other materials. In general, the most common types of polymers were PS, PP and ABS. Chemical characterisation made it possible to analyse the composition of the plastic components, which is information that is essential to be able to determine the feasibility of recovering the resulting fractions. The results showed that the content of hazardous substances in these plastics is far below the limits stipulated in Directive 2002/95/EC (RoSH Directive). The findings of this study show a need for a specific management system for this fraction of domestic wastes and a wide range of potential reusability of the discarded toys since 65% of the toys from the collected sample worked in perfect condition. We also found that the end-of-life is one of the aspects that have not been considered during their design as both materials and disassembly sequence do not facilitate the end-of-life of this type of wastes. This information could be used to improve the ecodesign of electrical and electronic equipment toys regarding their end-of-life. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
One route to reducing electronic waste, increasing product reuse, is dependent on the quality and functionality of discarded electronic goods (core), about which little is known or understood. This paper reports on the collection, testing, and classification of 189 discarded microwave ovens. We find that most had only minor, if any, issues and almost all were suitable for reuse and/or remanufacturing. It was also documented, in face-to-face interviews with 82 persons discarding microwaves, that consumers have little knowledge of disposal routes for end-of-life products other than public recycling facilities, and that a large proportion of consumers discarding microwaves intended to buy a similar product, calling into question the widely-held belief that e-waste is always driven by a desire for the latest technology. Based on these results, it is not unreasonable to argue that, for microwave ovens, the major impediments to reuse are neither the quality of discarded products nor the cost of electrical spare parts, but rather current product design and the incipiency of the market for second hand items. Using this information, minor changes in design that would significantly improve re-usability are proposed to OEMs.
In the US, household electronic waste collected for recycling is primarily by voluntary drop-off at designated collection facilities. This study examines the influence of specific collection facility attributes (recycling fees charged, number of days open, and driving distance) on the household collection rate of e-waste in the US state of Maine. Data were collected for household computer monitor and television collection for 92 municipal waste transfer facilities representing 30% of the state's population for one year. Results suggest that recycling fees are negatively correlated with the number of televisions and computer monitors collected; furthermore, the more frequently facilities were open, the more televisions and computer monitors were collected per capita. The distance from the facility had no correlation, which prompted an analysis of whether the existence of a curbside collection system in the municipality was influential. Results show a negative correlation between computer monitor and television collection and a municipality having recycling (but not e-waste) curbside collection. Based on the results of this study, policymakers may be able to increase the collection rate of household e-waste by eliminating or lowering recycling fees, expanding collection days and hours to increase convenience, and/or considering curbside collection of e-waste.Highlights► Data on the collection rates of televisions and computer monitors in Maine, USA are analyzed. ► Recycling fees are negatively correlated with the amount of e-waste collected. ► The more frequently e-waste collection facilities were open, the higher the e-waste collection rate. ► Policy-makers may be able to increase e-waste collection by increasing convenience of e-waste drop-off.
Within the growing stockpile of electronic waste (e-waste), TVs are especially of concern in the US because of their number (which is known imprecisely), their low recycling rate, and their material content: cathode ray tube televisions contain lead, and both rear projection and flat panel displays contain mercury, in addition to other potentially toxic materials. Based on a unique dataset from a 2010 survey, our count models show that pro-environmental behavior, age, education, household size, marital status, gender of the head of household, dwelling type, and geographic location are statistically significant variables for explaining the number of broken or obsolete (junk) TVs stored by US households. We also estimate that they are storing approximately 84.1 million junk TVs, which represents 40 pounds of scrap per household. Materials in each of these junk TVs are worth $21 on average at January 2012 materials prices, which sets an upper bound on collecting and recycling costs. This information should be helpful for developing more effective recycling strategies for TVs in the e-waste stream.
Concerns about rapid increases in the volume of electronic waste (e-waste) and its potential toxicity have sharpened policy makers' interest for extended producer responsibility to encourage manufacturers of consumer electronic devices (CEDs) to 'design for the environment'. This paper examines consumer willingness to pay for 'green' electronics based on a 2004 mail survey of California households. Using ordered logit models, it was found that significant predictors of willingness to pay for 'greener' computers and cell phones include age, income, education, beliefs about the role of government for improving environmental quality, as well as environmental attitudes and behaviors, but neither gender nor political affiliation. Although most respondents are willing to pay only a 1% premium for 'greener' CEDs, innovation and EU directives may soon make them competitive with conventional CEDs.
The volume of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has been rapidly growing in recent years. In the European Union (EU), legislation promoting the collection and recycling of WEEE has been in force since the year 2003. Yet, both current and recently suggested collection targets for WEEE are completely ineffective when it comes to collection and recycling of small WEEE (s-WEEE), with mobile phones as a typical example. Mobile phones are the most sold EEE and at the same time one of appliances with the lowest collection rate. To improve this situation, it is necessary to assess the amount of generated end of life (EoL) mobile phones as precisely as possible. This paper presents a method of assessment of EoL mobile phones generation based on delay model. Within the scope of this paper, the method has been applied on the Czech Republic data. However, this method can be applied also to other EoL appliances in or outside the Czech Republic.
Presently, large quantities of waste mobile phones are being generated in Nigeria with a significant proportion in storage. This paper investigated the behavior of consumers in Nigeria towards this waste stream and their willingness to participate in waste mobile phones recycling. This study also assessed the willingness of consumer's to pay for a more ‘environment friendlier’ phone – the so-called ‘green phone’. We performed a principal component analysis with varimax rotation in order to condense some of our questions into a smaller set of factors. We developed a model to estimate and explain the willingness to pay (WTP) a premium for ‘green’ cell phones. The model showed that the significant predictors of willingness to pay extra for green electronics include awareness and concern about the deteriorating environment, age, and the general attitude towards the environment. About 65% of the respondents are either ‘willing’ or ‘very willing’ to drop-off no-longer-in-use electronics at a nearby recycling facility. Majority of the respondents are also very willing to pay a premium for a green phone. Considering the increasing waste generation by this sector, it has become expedient that a recycling program be introduced for these potentially harmful waste materials.
Environmentally sound management of end-of-life mobile phones is an issue of growing concern in Korea and around the world. This paper discusses the generation rate, collection systems, and recycling processes of used & end-of-life mobile phones in Korea. The results were based on review of the existing literature, a survey of 1090 consumers, site visits to electronic waste recycling facilities, and interviews with mobile telecommunication companies and environmental regulatory authorities. The results show that on average 14.5 million mobile phones have been retired annually in Korea over the period of analysis (2000–2007). A large fraction of used & end-of-life mobile phones has been stored at home waiting for disposal. Approximately five million used & end-of-life mobile phones have been collected by mobile telecommunication companies and producers annually between 2004 and 2007. The results of the consumer survey showed that the average Korean consumer typically replaces his/her mobile phone every 28.8 months. Since collection and recycling of mobile phones has only recently started, the methods and infrastructure for collection and recycling process for used & end-of-life mobile phones have not yet been well-established. More active collection activities and systems for used & end-of-life mobile phone are still needed, adding more collection points where consumers can drop off their used mobile phones. Producers, consumers, mobile telecommunication companies, and local governments should consider more collective actions that can be taken to promote successful collection and recycling schemes.
Much previous research on recycling behavior has drawn heavily on models of personal and perceived social norms, as well as of personal attitudes, to explain recycling behavior. Although such models have received empirical support, the issue concerning discrepancies between norms, personal attitudes and an individual's behavior is yet to be resolved. Using battery recycling in Switzerland as a case in point, the present questionnaire-based research examines via regression analyses the relationship between self-reported recycling behavior and socio-demographic variables, attitudes towards ecologically positive waste disposal, trust in waste disposal authorities, specific knowledge concerning recycling, justifications for not participating in the recycling scheme, self-organization of recycling behavior, and level of battery consumption. It was found that recycling knowledge, self-organization of recycling, and disagreement with justifications for non-recycling were positively related to recycling behavior, while attitudes towards ecological waste disposal and trust in waste disposal authorities were not directly related to respondents’ self-reported battery recycling behavior. On the basis of these results, with reference to Sykes and Matza's Neutralization theory [Sykes GM, Matza D. Techniques of neutralization: a theory of delinquency. Am Sociol Rev 1957:22(6):664–70] a contextualized model of recycling behavior is proposed. This model is able to account for inconsistencies between personal attitudes and perceived social norms, and has practical implications for the design of public intervention strategies for enhancing participation in the recycling.
Based upon a survey on household electronic and electrical equipment, this paper provides information on the public's perception of the local environmental quality, environmental awareness and environmental performance, and of their willingness to pay for improving environmental quality and making green purchases. The results indicate that Ningbo residents are not satisfied with the local environmental quality, and they would like very much to share environmental responsibility. About 64% of the respondents are aware of Chinese environmental labeling. Nearly 70% and 80% of the respondents are willing to pay for environmental improvement and to purchase environmentally friendly products, respectively. The amount of household electrical and electronic equipment has increased dramatically and most of them are phased out within their product lifetimes. Of all the respondents, 61% chose to reuse and recycle waste electrical and electronic equipment.
Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is recognised as the fastest growing waste stream in the European Union (EU), with estimates of up to 20 kg per person per annum. A wide variety of WEEE is discarded by consumers, often in different ways depending on size with small items (e.g. toasters) being easier to dispose of than larger ones (e.g. washing machines). Currently, small WEEE is not treated as a priority waste stream in the UK as in order to meet targets under the WEEE Directive2 (CEC, 2003c) it makes more sense to focus on larger items for which collection, reuse and recycling systems already exist, but small items need to be tackled for a number of reasons, including the long term strategic development of infrastructure. In light of this, the paper will assess consumer attitudes towards the disposal of small WEEE, and identify key problems raised by the implementation of the WEEE Directive in relation to these small product groups. The findings from a large scale postal questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews conducted in Cardiff, Wales will be used, and key literature and research carried out to date on the disposal of WEEE, and household attitudes to waste and recycling will be assessed. It will also look at how the implementation of the WEEE Directive ‘fits in’ with the current transition in the UK towards more sustainable waste management practices at the household level, and then explore the most effective ways of engaging householders in the recycling of small WEEE. Key recommendations will then be outlined concerning the future strategic development and practical implementation of the WEEE Directive in relation to consumer involvement and small product types.
Many commonly used models in statistics can be formulated as (Bayesian) hierarchical Gaussian Markov random field (GMRF) models. These are characterised by assuming a (often large) GMRF as the second stage in the hierarchical structure and a few hyperparameters at the third stage. Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) is the common approach for Bayesian inference in such models. The variance of the Monte Carlo estimates is Op(M-1/2) where M is the number of samples in the chain so, in order to obtain precise estimates of marginal densities, say, we need M to be very large.Inspired by the fact that often one-block and independence samplers can be constructed for hierarchical GMRF-models, we will in this work investigate whether MCMC is really needed to estimate marginal densities, which often is the goal of the analysis. By making use of GMRF-approximations, we show by typical examples that marginal densities can indeed be very precisely estimated by deterministic schemes. The methodological and practical consequence of these findings are indeed positive. We conjecture that for many hierarchical GMRF-models there is really no need for MCMC based inference to estimate marginal densities. Further, by making use of numerical methods for sparse matrices the computational costs of these deterministic schemes are nearly instant compared to the MCMC alternative. In particular, we discuss in detail the issue of computing marginal variances for GMRFs.
The determination of sample size is a common task for many organizational researchers. Inappropriate, inadequate, or excessive sample sizes continue to influence the quality and accuracy of research. The procedures for determining sample size for continuous and categorical variables using Cochran's (1977) formulas are described. A discussion and illustration of sample size formulas, including the formula for adjusting the sample size for smaller populations, is included
Mobile phones have relatively short lifecycles and are rapidly seen as obsolete by many users within little over a year. However, the reusability of these devices as well as their material composition means that in terms of mass and volume, mobile phones represent the most valuable electronic products that are currently found in large numbers in waste streams. End-of-life mobile phones are a high value (from a reuse and resource perspective), high volume (quantity), low cost (residual monetary value) and transient (short lifecycle) electronic product. There are very large numbers of higher education (mainly university) students in the world--there are>2.4 million in the UK alone, 19 million in Europe and 18.2 million in the USA--and they often replace their mobile phones several times before graduation. Thus, because of the potentially significant environmental and economic impacts, a large scale survey of students at 5 UK universities was conducted to assess the behaviour of students with regard to their use and disposal of mobile phones. Additionally, a small scale trial mobile phone takeback service at one of the universities was carried out. The findings indicate that many students replace their phones at least once a year; replacing broken phones, getting upgrades from network operators, remaining "fashionable" and a desire to have a handset with a longer battery life are the main reasons for such rapid replacement. Almost 60% of replaced phones are not sent to reuse or recycling operations but are stockpiled by students mainly as spare/backup phones. Approximately 61% of students own an extra mobile phone with male students replacing their phones more often than females. In particular, the results highlight the potentially huge stockpile of mobile phones--and consequently valuable supplies of rare metals--being held by the public; we estimate that there are 3.7 million phones stockpiled by students in UK higher education alone (29.3 and 28.1 million stockpiled, respectively, for Europe and USA). Although many students are aware of UK mobile phone takeback services, only a moderate number have previously used the services. Students' recycling of other waste materials such as paper and glass did not have a significant impact on their disposal actions for their unwanted mobile phones, although students who often recycled these waste materials were also the most willing to participate in mobile phone takeback services. Monetary incentives such as cash payments and vouchers have the greatest influence over students' willingness to utilise takeback services, followed by convenience and ease of use of the services. The paper discusses these findings as well as the outcome of the trial mobile phone takeback. It is suggested that universities should partner with established takeback operators to conduct event-based mobile phone takeback services primarily targeting students. Lessons from mobile phone takeback applicable to takeback services for end-of-life gadgets similar to mobile phones are also discussed.
Mobile phones are the most ubiquitous electronic product on the globe. They have relatively short lifecycles and because of their (perceived) in-built obsolescence, discarded mobile phones represent a significant and growing problem with respect to waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). An emerging and increasingly important issue for industry is the shortage of key metals, especially the types of metals found in mobile phones, and hence the primary aim of this timely study was to assess and evaluate the voluntary mobile phone takeback network in the UK. The study has characterised the information, product and incentives flows in the voluntary UK mobile phone takeback network and reviewed the merits and demerits of the incentives offered. A survey of the activities of the voluntary mobile phone takeback schemes was undertaken in 2008 to: identify and evaluate the takeback schemes operating in the UK; determine the target groups from whom handsets are collected; and assess the collection, promotion and advertising methods used by the schemes. In addition, the survey sought to identify and critically evaluate the incentives offered by the takeback schemes, evaluate their ease and convenience of use; and determine the types, qualities and quantities of mobile phones they collect. The study has established that the UK voluntary mobile phone takeback network can be characterised as three distinctive flows: information flow; product flow (handsets and related accessories); and incentives flow. Over 100 voluntary schemes offering online takeback of mobile phone handsets were identified. The schemes are operated by manufacturers, retailers, mobile phone network service operators, charities and by mobile phone reuse, recycling and refurbishing companies. The latter two scheme categories offer the highest level of convenience and ease of use to their customers. Approximately 83% of the schemes are either for-profit/commercial-oriented and/or operate to raise funds for charities. The voluntary schemes use various methods to collect mobile phones from consumers, including postal services, courier and in-store. The majority of schemes utilise and finance pre-paid postage to collect handsets. Incentives offered by the takeback schemes include monetary payments, donation to charity and entry into prize draws. Consumers from whom handsets and related equipment are collected include individuals, businesses, schools, colleges, universities, charities and clubs with some schemes specialising on collecting handsets from one target group. The majority (84.3%) of voluntary schemes did not provide information on their websites about the quantities of mobile phones they collect. The operations of UK takeback schemes are decentralised in nature. Comparisons are made between the UK's decentralised collection system versus Australia's centralised network for collection of mobile phones. The significant principal conclusions from the study are: there has been a significant rise in the number of takeback schemes operating in the UK since the initial scheme was launched in 1997; the majority of returned handsets seem to be of low quality; and there is very little available information on the quantities of mobile phones collected by the various schemes. Irrespective of their financial motives, UK takeback schemes increasingly play an important role in sustainable waste management by diverting EoL mobile phones from landfills and encouraging reuse and recycling. Recommendations for future actions to improve the management of end-of-life mobile phone handsets and related accessories are made.
While accurately estimating electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) generation is important for building appropriate infrastructure for its collection and recycling, making reliable estimates of this kind is difficult in Hong Kong owing to the fact that neither accurate trade statistics nor sales data of relevant products are available. In view of this, data of e-products consumption at household level was collected by a tailor-made questionnaire survey from the public for obtaining a reasonable e-waste generation estimate. It was estimated that on average no more than 80,443 tones (11.5 kg/capita) of waste is generated from non-plasma and non-liquid crystal display televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, air-conditioners and personal computers each year by Hong Kong households. However, not more than 17% of this is disposed as waste despite a producer responsibility scheme (PRS) not being in place because of the existence of a vibrant e-waste trading sector. The form of PRS control that can possibly win most public support is one that would involve the current e-waste traders as a major party in providing the reverse logistics with a visible recycling charge levied at the point of importation. This reverse logistic service should be convenient, reliable and highly accessible to the consumers.
The household appliance industry is one of the most important sectors from both the economic and environmental point of view. A greater understanding of the way in which consumers of these items behave would help to better plan the recycling needs as a function of previous purchase figures. This paper presents the findings of a field survey of Spanish consumer habits with respect to different common household appliances as regards replacement time and the reasons for replacing these appliances. The methodology used is based on survival analysis; specifically, a competing risks model. A Cox proportional hazards model is also used for the sake of comparison. Our results show that as the number of people and/or persons under 18 years in the household increases, the lifetimes of some types of appliance decrease significantly. Competing risk model shows that the probability of replacing the refrigerator due to malfunction and technological obsolescence increases with the increase of family members with a higher education. We also provide the cumulative incidence function for different appliances, which can be used to forecast future demands and electrical and electronic waste generation.