Determinants and logistics of e-waste recycling

Abstract

Purpose – The rapid consumption of new electronic devices has expanded the volume of electronic waste (e-waste) and created a potential threat to the environment. Recycling of e-waste (eCycling) can help stem the proliferation of e-waste and its environmental threat. In order to increase this positive involvement in eCycling and design effective eCycling programs, a better understanding of eCycling behaviors is needed. The purpose of this paper is to employ the Theory of Reasoned Action as a framework to develop a model to identify the determinants of eCycling behavior. Design/methodology/approach – To assess the model, a survey of 327 university students is undertaken. To analyze the eCycling behavior from the survey data, a structural equation modeling technique is used. Findings – The findings suggest that: attitudes and moral norms positively influence eCycling behavior; the higher the awareness of consequences, the more the eCycling involvement; and perceived convenience is an important factor that leads to more involvement in eCycling. Research limitations/implications – This research is limited by the student sample and campus environment that might confine the generalizability of the study. Also, additional variables need to be examined in order to better explain eCycling behavior. The result of the study provides insights for organizations to build successful eCycling programs, engage young adults such as college students in eCycling, and increase involvement in eCycling. Practical implications – This study provides insights that can help supply chain managers to better understand the consumer involvement in eCycling. Managers’ understanding of eCycling behavior would encourage eCycling involvement by placing drop-off units in convenient locations and by creating campaigns that motivate consumers to return their e-waste. An increased consumer involvement in eCycling can help manufacturing companies lower the cost of e-waste across the supply chain and regain the value of returned materials by adopting reverse logistics. Originality/value – This study contributes to the stream of eCycling literature by investigating students’ eCycling intentions and behaviors on a university campus. The paper develops an understanding of how eCycling involvement might be improved.

Determinants of Residents’ E-Waste Recycling Behavioral Intention: A Case Study from Vietnam

“…This factor is evaluated from the respondents' ability and access to e-waste collection or recycling centers surroundings their residential area. In other words, inconvenience may have negative impacts on residents' e-waste recycling intention [9,24,53]. In agreement with these studies, our study also shows the same results, which its coefficient was −0.085, referring that residents suppose that e-waste recycling is not the easy task but inconvenience plays a super weak impact on the behavioral intention of recycling.…”

“…From this result, the vital role of laws and regulations is emphasized; therefore, there is a high-priority need for the introduction of enforced legislation, clearly defining the responsibility of residents in e-waste recycling. The influence path coefficient of environmental awareness and attitude towards recycling was 0.259 with p-value reached a significant level (<0.001), representing that this construct had a significant positive effect on e-waste recycling behavior, being consistent with earlier studies [8,46,53]. This influence path coefficient came into the second place, behind that of laws and regulations, showing that environmental awareness and attitude towards recycling was the second strongest determinant factor constrained the residents' recycling intention effectively.…”

“…With regard to the relationship between social pressure and e-waste recycling intention, it can be seen from the SEM analysis results that social pressure had a positive impact on e-waste recycling behavioral intention, similar to what was reported in previous studies [23,53,54]. Although this impact was significant at 5% level, the standardized coefficient was not very large, suggesting that the influence of social pressure was weaker than that of laws and regulations and environmental awareness and attitude towards recycling.…”

“…Along with laws and regulations, social pressure which has The attitude in the conceptual framework is defined as residents' environmental awareness and attitude toward e-waste recycling. These two variables have been proved to have a significant impact on recycling behavioral intention [8,23,53]. The second pillar in the framework is subjective norm, which embodies to social pressure and laws and regulations.…”

Determinants of Individuals’ E-Waste Recycling Decision: A Case Study from Romania

“…Based on the papers mentioned above and by considering a series of other studies from a broader range of papers referring to the general recycling process and the way humans actions can be influenced (such as [72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81]), a 54-questions survey was generated. Due to the validation process of the questionnaire, the number of questions was reduced due to low loadings as suggested by [20], with a 41-questions construction remaining after the validation.…”