Assessing young consumers' awareness and participation in sustainable e-waste management practices: a survey study in Northwest China

Forging green Horizons: Revealing Catalysts of pro-environmental behavior in emerging market

In recent years, environmental pollution has started to threaten global economies. The understanding of consumer behavior within the context of sustainable development has become increasingly important to deal with this growing ecological complexity. Urbanization has accelerated in Pakistan, resulting in urban consumers raising more environmental concerns and promoting eco-friendly products. These concerns have demonstrated their commitment to sustainability and pro-environmental behaviors, such as reducing waste materials (e.g., plastics) and pollutants (i.e., smoke, dust, etc.), thus supporting eco-friendly behaviors. Today, Pakistan's urban consumers are well-aware of environmental complexities. As such, environmental knowledge is the driver of consumers' pro-environmental behavior, affective commitment and social capital also compel individuals to acquire ecological knowledge to enhance consumer behavior. This research considers customers' environmental knowledge and affective commitment, both of which actively contribute to pro-environmental activity. It explores the relationship between environmental knowledge, affection commitment, social capital, and environmental behavior in Pakistan. Data was gathered from Pakistan's urban customers and analyzed using Covariance-based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM). The results indicate that affective commitment and social capital have a positive and significant effect on environmental knowledge and behavior. Notably, the relationship between social capital, affective commitment, and environmental behavior is mediated by knowledge of environmental issues. Through its findings, this study fosters an understanding of environmental behavior and explains the sense of responsibility and greater commitment in individuals, which thus leads them toward sustainability.

An in-depth analysis and review of management strategies for E-waste in the south Asian region: A way forward towards waste to energy conversion and sustainability

The soaring rise of electronic and electrical waste (E-waste) leads to significant challenges to the South Asian region, urging for incorporating comprehensive assessment and management strategies. The research dives into the intricacies of E-waste and examines how regulatory barriers, public ignorance, and the limited lifespan of electronic devices all contribute to the significant production of E-waste. This study emphasizes the vital need for ongoing and appropriate management practices by bringing attention to the short lifespan of electronic devices and the resulting generation of E-waste. This work also addresses the increased risks that people who live close to informal recycling sites for electronic waste face, as well as the dangerous substances that are found in them and how they harm the environment and human health. Furthermore, in order to promote circular economies and increase productivity, the study assesses management practices in both developed and developing nations, placing special emphasis on component reuse and recycling. Along with addressing the grave consequences of the illicit E-waste trade on the environment, particularly in developing nations, this review attempts to enlighten stakeholders and policymakers about the vital need for coordinated efforts to address the issues related to E-waste in the South Asian region by offering insights into E-waste assessment and management techniques.

Evolutionary game analysis of multi-stakeholders in the WEEE recycling industry under propaganda subsidies and environmental damage taxes

With an increase in the amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), the waste of resources and environmental hazards caused by WEEE cannot be ignored. Meanwhile, the lack of environmental awareness among consumers and the existence of informal recyclers pose a great challenge to the government in governing the WEEE recycling industry. This study constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model consisting of the government and formal and informal recyclers. Then, the payoff matrix, replicator dynamic equations and all the equilibrium points are obtained, and a stability analysis of the equilibrium points is performed to derive the evolutionary stability strategies (ESSs) and their formation conditions. Finally, the influence of important parameters on the WEEE recycling industry is examined through numerical analysis. The results suggest that the government cannot ignore the existence of informal recyclers but should take governance measures to intervene in informal recycling and guide such recyclers to upgrade their processing technology. Moreover, the willingness of informal recyclers to invest in processing technology increases with the increase in environmental damage taxes. Second, the government should provide formal recyclers with appropriate promotional subsidies. Third, the government should control its own cost of governance and reduce its financial burden. Fourth, with government subsidies, formal recyclers should decide whether to make promotional investments based on the investment cost and the sum of the benefits from the investment and government subsidy. Finally, under government tax pressure and the influence of formal recyclers' promotional investments, informal recyclers should actively invest in processing technology.

Exploring factors of e-waste recycling intention: The case of generation Y

The seriousness of the e-waste crisis stems from the fact that consumers do not participate much in ensuring the proper disposal of electronic materials. In this context, millennials are the largest segment of consumers of electronic products who are not yet motivated to get sustainably rid of them. However, to inspire consumers to recycle e-waste, it is necessary to investigate consumers' behavioral intentions towards e-waste thoroughly. This study integrates the theory of planned behavior, social influence theory, and personality traits to examine how consumers gauge their choice to recycle e-waste. Data were collected from randomly surveying 300 Lithuanians through a structured questionnaire. Using the PLS-SEM approach, results show that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control significantly influence consumers' e-waste recycling intention. Regarding personality traits, only openness to experience significantly affects consumers' e-waste recycling intention. In contrast, other traits such as agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism have a non-significant influence on consumers' e-waste recycling intention. In addition, normative and informational social influence affects consumers' e-waste recycling intention. The current study advances our understanding of e-waste recycling behavior by examining how TPB, personality factors, and social influence theory influence intentions. It provides valuable insights for policymakers and marketers on understanding and encouraging the e-waste behavior of Lithuanian Y-generation consumers.

Deca-BDE emissions, validation, and environmental fate in China

Decabromodiphenyl ether (Deca-BDE) was officially listed in Annex A of the Stockholm Convention for persistent organic pollutants (POPs). It is necessary to establish its emission inventory to help reduce Deca-BDE contamination in the environment. We established a comprehensive Deca-BDE emission inventory in China. The results reveal that, from 2015 to 2017, the Deca-BDE emissions in its production source (source I) were less altered but increased annually in flame retarded plastics processing (source II), Deca-BDE-containing products usage (source III), and electronic waste (e-waste) treatment (source IV). We show that Deca-BDE emissions declined significantly in sources I and II but grew in source III and source IV from 2017 to 2018. We set up the provincial emission inventory to a gridded map on a spatial resolution of 0.25°× 0.25° latitude/longitude. The gridded inventory was incorporated into ChnMETOP model to simulate Deca-BDE concentrations in air and soil, and the modeled concentrations were compared to field-sampling data. The results show that the Deca-BDE emission inventory developed in this study agreed well with observed data, demonstrating that the Deca-BDE inventory in China developed in the present study is reliable. The inventory provides a support for quantifying human exposure risk to Deca-BDE and developing effective mitigation measures to mitigate Deca-BDE emissions.

A review on recovery processes of metals from E-waste: A green perspective

E-waste management has become a global concern because of the enormous rise in the rate of end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment's (EEEs). Disposal of waste EEE directly into the environment leads to adverse effects on the environment as well as on human health. For the management of E-waste, numerous studies have been carried out for extracting metals (base, precious, and rare earth) following pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, and biometallurgy. Irrespective of the advantages of these processes, certain limitations still exist with each of these options in terms of their adoption as treatment techniques. Several journal publications regarding the different processes have been made which aids in future research in the field of E-waste management. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the various metal recovery processes (pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, and biometallurgy) from E-waste, along with their advantages and limitations. A bibliometric study based on the published articles using different keywords in Scopus has been provided for a complete idea about E-waste with green technology perspective like bioleaching, biosorption, etc. The present study also focussed on the circular economic approach towards sustainable E-waste management along with its socio-economic aspects and the economic growth of the country. The present study would provide valuable knowledge in understanding E-waste and its different treatment processes to the students, researchers, industrialists, and policymakers of the country.

The Expanded Theory of Planned Behavior in the Context of Environmental Protection Behaviors for Undergraduates: Roles of Moral Norms and University Class Standings

The expanded Theory of Planned Behavior (ETPB) was applied to examine undergraduates’ environmental protection behaviors. Moral norms were applied into the model as the predictor of attitude, social norms and perceived behavioral control. The effects of different class standings were also examined. A questionnaire survey was conducted and 380 responses underwent data analysis using structural equation modelling. According to Model ETPB, perceived behavioral control and subjective norms were strongly affected by moral norms, while attitude was moderately affected by moral norms. Environmental protection behaviors was moderately affected by environmental protection intention, while environmental protection intention was moderately affected by perceived behavioral control which was the strongest predictor, followed by attitude and subjective norms. Invoking moral emotions through posters or peers leading by examples, which over time might internalize into moral norms, played an important role in positively affecting perceived behavioral control and subjective norms. This could be followed by simple and convenient programs creating a positive self-perception of the abilities to carry out environmental protection behaviors. When separated by class standings, perceived behavioral control was the strongest predictor for the freshmen class, while subjective norms were non-significant. For the class standing of sophomores and above, attitude was the strongest predictor.

Consumers’ Purchase Intention of Suboptimal Food Using Behavioral Reasoning Theory: A Food Waste Reduction Strategy

Food waste has attained considerable attention globally during the last decade, owing to its environmental and social impacts. Consumers’ low preference to purchase edible fruits and vegetables with unusual appearance, discoloration, etc., technically referred to as suboptimal food, significantly contributes to food waste. Consumers are more likely to reject suboptimal food while purchasing food, resulting in unnecessary food waste. However, consumers’ perceptions of whether or not to purchase suboptimal food are still unidentified. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to explore the factors influencing as motivators (reason for) and barriers (reason against) in explaining the consumers’ purchase intention toward suboptimal food using Behavioral Reasoning Theory (BRT). This study conducts a questionnaire survey from 650 consumers using a purposive sampling method. The Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) is used to analyze the data. The findings support the proposed theoretical framework and confirm its robustness in exploring the factors influencing the consumers’ purchase intention of suboptimal food. The findings suggest that the factors including values, reason for (environmental concern and price consciousness), reason against (quality inferior and unappealing appearance), and attitude have direct and indirect influence on consumers’ purchase intention of suboptimal food. Based on the results, the study highlights several insights for policymakers, marketers, business professionals, and practitioners to promote suboptimal food in order to reduce food waste.

Consumer behaviour towards storage, disposal and recycling of e-waste: systematic review and future research prospects

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.

Understanding consumers' perspectives of electronic waste in an emerging economy: a case study of New Delhi, India

Obsolete electronics or E-waste has observed significant escalation in the recent years. Young adults, in particular, are one of the largest consumers of electronic equipments in the contemporary world, although research on their perceptions, awareness and disposal behavior of E-waste has been far and few in between. Considering the growth trajectory of E-waste in the emerging economies, a study has been carried out in the capital city of India, New Delhi with 1039 respondents in the age group of 18-22. Contemplating its aggressive generation, obsolete mobile phone was considered as a representative of E-waste. Both purchase and disposal behaviors of mobile phones were evaluated through the lens of theoretical frameworks such as conspicuous consumption and throwaway society. The concepts of planned and premature obsolescence were also explored. A structured questionnaire survey was carried out through a respondent driven snowball sampling method. We observed that the functional need is the foremost consideration while deciding to purchase a new mobile phone within our study sample. Over 49% of our respondents change their mobile phones between 1 and 3 years. This corresponds to the fact that mobile phones are discarded very much within their actual functional lifespan. Overall, it could be concluded that the major attributes of conspicuous consumption and a throwaway society are still not dominant in our study sample. The experiences of India's E-waste have the potential to provide important insights for policy formulation and sustainable management particularly in other emerging economies and developing countries.

Analysis of Critical Success Factors to Design E-waste Collection Policy in India: A Fuzzy DEMATEL Approach

The design of an e-waste collection policy is challenging, especially for a country like India, where the economy is a developing state, and there is a large diversity in socio-economic factors. The e-waste collection policy impacts the various stakeholders such as the manufacturer, the raw material producers, the assemblers, the retailers, the generator (households and bulk consumers), the scrap dealers, the smelters, the recyclers, and the regulators. The design of an e-waste collection policy needs to consider the appropriate set of Critical Success Factors (CSFs), which will maximise the e-waste collection providing business sustainability to the stakeholders while satisfying the environmental regulations in the operating locations. Twenty-three CSFs identified and categorised in six implication dimensions for the e-waste collection policy framework based on a literature survey and experts committee view. The fuzzy DEMATEL approach is employed to analyse the CSFs to design an e-waste collection policy in India from a comprehensive perspective. Cause and effect interrelationship is established among the CSFs, and also their impacts are evaluated to segregate the CSFs into cause group (prominent influencing and independent) and effect group (influenced and dependent). The CSFs such as technology involvement, green practices, environmental program, certification and licensing, public ethics and stakeholder's awareness for circular economy are prominent influencing CSFs for e-waste collection policy in India. The current study is expected to provide a platform for policymakers to design the e-waste collection policy.

Exploring the optimal reverse supply chain for e-waste treatment under Chinese government subsidy

This study aims to analyze the influence of Chinese government subsidy on e-waste treatment formal and informal reverse supply chains (RSC) and to explore the optimal formal channel structure. Under the formal recycler-Stackelberg game, we establish three game theory models respectively under the conditions of price insensitive and price sensitive overall collection quantity. In each model, a dual-channel RSC, the green technology investment decision of formal recycler and a subsidy for formal recycler are modelled. Besides, the three models are different in collectors and collection effort implementers of the formal channel. Through mathematical modelling and comparison analysis, the study concludes that the best choice for the formal recycling enterprises is to establish its own collection channel or centralize other independent collection channels. Under the condition of price insensitive overall collection quantity, the suboptimal choice is to implement collection effort positively. Under the condition of price sensitive overall collection quantity, the suboptimal choice is to outsource the collection effort when formal recycling enterprises benefit more from the collection effort. And the phenomenon is more outstanding when the overall collection quantity can be greatly improved by the collection price. For governments, they are recommended to prudently implement the subsidy and determine the amount of subsidy because the subsidy may benefit informal channels and the effectiveness of the subsidy varies along with formal channel structures. This study is beneficial for the promotion of formal RSC by providing the optimal channel structure for formal recycling enterprises and indicating the optimal subsidy for governments.

Issues and solutions of electronic waste urban mining for circular economy transition: An Indian context

The rapid consumption of advanced e-products has intensified problems for the linear economy; constantly diminishing natural resources employed in production processes have created a need of recycle and reuse. Although the transition to a circular economy proposes to end the loop of e-products, it needs the application of processes such as urban mining to recover resources as secondary raw material. The present study intends to examine the issues and challenges of electronic waste urban mining (EWUM) in India that need to be assessed for the development of a sustainable economy. To accomplish this, the current study employs integrated Multi-Criteria-Decision making methods (MCDM). Step-Wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) is used to prioritize issues and their possible solutions with Weighted Assessment Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS) methods introduced to explore these challenges and provide solutions for managing EWUM. There is an immediate need to acknowledge the issues confronted by stakeholders in urban mining processes for successful transition to a circular economy. A better understanding of the issues will help policy makers and decision makers to implement best practices to enhance the urban mining process in India. This study has shown that socio-economic (SE) issues are the most critical issues in EWUM in India. The possible solutions that would have most impact are to enhance awareness campaigns for people to educate themselves regarding e-waste, train staff to handle safe disposal of e-waste and produce eco-friendly electronic products.

Data analytics of social media publicity to enhance household waste management

Household waste segregation and recycling is ranked at a high priority of the waste management hierarchy. Its management remains a great challenge due to the high dependency on social behaviours. The integration of Internet of Things (IoT) and subscription accounts on social media platforms related to household waste management could be an effective and environmentally friendly publicity approach than traditional publicity via posters and newspapers. However, there is a paucity of literature on measuring social media publicity in household waste management, which brings challenges for practitioners to characterise and improve this publicity pathway. In this study, under an integrated framework, data mining approaches are employed or extended for multidimensional publicity analytics using the data of online footprints of propagandist and users. A real-world case study based on a subscription account on the WeChat platform, Shanghai Green Account, is analysed to reveal useful insights for personalised improvements of household waste management. This study suggests that the current publicity related to household waste management leans towards propagandist-centred in both timing and topic dimensions. The identified timing, which has high user engagement, is 12:00-13:00 and 21:00-22:00 on Thursday. The overall relative publicity quality of historical posts is calculated as 0.95. Average user engagement under the macro policy in Shanghai was elevated by 138.5% from 2018 to 2019, during which the collections of biodegradable food waste and recyclable waste were elevated by 88.8% and 431.8%. Intelligent decision support by publicity analytics could enhance household waste management through effective communication.

Waste mobile phones: A survey and analysis of the awareness, consumption and disposal behavior of consumers in Australia

Electronic waste (e-waste) is one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the world and waste mobile phone (WMP) represents a significant portion of the stream. Consumer awareness, consumption, and disposal behavior are of importance to assist in the implementation the circular economy. In Australia, some 94% of the adult population has a mobile phone, and the only WMP collection and recycling program in the country - "MobileMuster" is operating under a voluntary scheme. This study reveals consumers' familiarity with the program, current consumption, and disposal behavior concerning mobile phones from a survey implemented in Sydney, Australia. In addition to descriptive analysis, statistical analysis (with the Chi-square test of independence and Multinomial Logistic Regression (MLR)) identifies factors that influenced the behaviors. The results show that only one-third of the respondents (32.42%) were aware of the program, and that there are 3.65 mobile phones in use per household, with an average possession lifespan of 3.17 years (including storage). Furthermore, there is a positive relationship between age and possession of mobile phones, and respondents discard or change their mobile phones while they were still working or repairable. The main reasons for disposing of mobile phones relate to them being either damaged/not functioning, lacking additional features, or having a backdated capacity. Storing (hoarding) mobile phones after active use was found predominant, and, more specifically, respondents aged 18-24 and 25-29 preferred to store their WMPs instead of taking them to collection points. The results reveal a need for environmental awareness-raising campaigns concerning WMPs recycling.

The relationship between environmental awareness, environmental behaviors, and carbon footprint in Turkish households

Having knowledge about household environmental behaviors is important for planning and conducting efforts to reduce carbon footprint. In this study, the relationship between environmental awareness, purchasing, household practices, and carbon footprint was investigated, and the impact of demographics on these variables was determined. The analysis shows that sensitivity dimension of environmental awareness is related to few environmental behavior variables (purchasing and efficiency) whereas willingness dimension was related to all variables (except gas). While improvements in demographic factors (income, education, and female employment status) positively affect environmental sensitivity, they increase carbon footprint from automobile. Only increase in income has an effect on willingness. It is determined that income positively affects environmental purchasing. Furthermore, it is revealed that environmental household practices did not differ in terms of demographic characteristics, except the effect of education on pollution.

Domestic flow of e-waste in São Paulo, Brazil: Characterization to support public policies

Understanding the domestic flow of e-waste is essential for efficient waste management in urban contexts. However, diagnosis of domestic e-waste flow is complex due to its diffuse generation and dependence on consumer behavior. Here, we characterized domestic e-waste flow in São Paulo, Brazil (a megacity with roughly 11 million inhabitants in 3.5 million households), describing the stages of product acquisition, out-of-use storage, and end-of-life destination, via a population-based cross-sectional study using a statistically representative sample. We conducted household interviews using a structured questionnaire, with questions on characteristics, quantities, and behaviors of acquisition, replacement, storage, repair, and destination for 26 electric and electronic equipment (EEE) categories. Each household had on average 21 EEE (95% confidence interval [CI]: 19.7-21.7), of which 18 were in use and 3 were out-of-use. Out-of-use storage was common, occurring in 72.6% of households. Discarded EEE (i.e., e-waste) was destined for intended reuse (59.5%; 95% CI: 57.4-61.5%), recycling (20.4%; 95% CI: 18.8-22.1%), and, particularly for small EEE, municipal waste (16.0%; 95% CI: 14.5-17.6%). Other aspects of domestic e-waste flow (e.g., place and time of acquisition, second-hand acquisition, donation, intention to repair damaged EEE, and storage) were quantified and related to actions for public policies. This research shows that household surveys are useful for obtaining primary data to verify consumer behavior toward EEE. We expect the findings of this study to support decision-making for public policies related to e-waste management, particularly in countries where reverse logistics systems are in the initial phase of implementation.

Supply chain analysis of e-waste processing plants in developing countries

e-Waste is generated at the staggering rate of 6.1 kg per person. In 2016, 44.7 million tonnes was generated globally, and the amount is estimated to reach 52 million tonnes annually by 2021. The management of this huge quantity of e-waste is a major problem across the world, primarily in developing countries. An effective e-waste management system is linked to the sustainability of e-waste processing plants, and currently it is plagued with different supply chain network (SCN) issues. To address the issues and challenges of SCN, there is a need to prioritize and address the constructs. The study thus combines two multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) tools, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and quality function deployment, to prioritize the constructs identified from literature and supported by field studies. The house of quality (HOQ) has been used for analyzing different stakeholders' requirements. The degree of importance for HOQ-1 has been derived using the AHP tool. The study revealed the most intriguing issues and challenges of e-waste processing plants considering the requirements of different stakeholders. The results showed formal collection, storage, semi-informal collection, and e-waste quality to be the major issues of processing plants. The findings obtained from MCDM analysis have been validated though two case studies in India and China. If the results obtained are applied to the existing e-waste SCN, a holistic e-waste management system can be achieved for developing countries.

Managing plastic waste disposal by assessing consumers' recycling behavior: the case of a densely populated developing country

The rapid increase in urbanization has given rise to the need of proper waste management. Within municipal waste, the plastic waste is a growing concern which is causing severe harm to our ecosystem. If ignored, this problem will have harmful effects on both human and wildlife. Therefore, this study aims to find out the factors that influence the recycling behavior patterns of consumers regarding plastic waste. The variables from the theory of planned behavior were adopted to study the behavior of consumers toward recycling plastic waste. The data was collected from 243 residents of Karachi-metropolitan city of Pakistan. The partial least square-structural equation modelling was applied to analyze the data. The findings of the current study reveal that different consumers' attributes and attitudes trigger different types of recycling behavior when it comes to waste disposal. Pressure from family and friends and perceived behavioral control trigger the behavior of reselling the waste plastic products while consumer's awareness of consequences and personal attitude toward proper waste disposal leads to reuse or donating that product to someone who can use that plastic product. The understanding of these consumer attributes may help to shape the behavioral outcomes in order to manage waste disposal. This study will be beneficial for business managers looking to improve reverse logistics as well as government/municipal policy makers and academics/researchers who are interested in a solution-oriented study.