Drivers and barriers to return and recycling of mobile phones. Case studies of communication and collection campaigns

Welfens, Maria J.; Nordmann, Julia; Seibt, Alexandra

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.11.082

Cited by 94 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 23 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…Sustainability and recycling behaviour are interrelated, with recycling viewed as a key issue in sustainability (Fuller, Allen, & Glaser, 1996) and dominantly as a proenvironmental consumer behaviour (e.g., Barr & Gilg, 2005;Steg & Vlek, 2009;Welfens, Nordmann, & Seibt, 2015). As such, we understand recycling, among others, as a behaviour that may offer one fruitful pathway to a more sustainable consumer society.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recycling today, sustainability tomorrow: Effects of psychological distance on behavioural practice

Schill

Shaw

2016

European Management Journal

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Much research has reported an attitude-behaviour gap in ecological behaviours. This research seeks to contribute important insights to this literature through a study that uses construal level theory (CLT) to understand the role and impact of psychological distance in explaining sustainable and recycling behaviours. Using a qualitative approach, the research found that consistency between mental construal and all dimensions of psychological distance was pertinent to recycling and sustainable behaviours. While theoretically CLT suggests there should be consistency across psychological distance dimensions and mental construal, there is limited research that explores all distance dimensions. Further, highlighted was the need for a near distance perspective to move individuals to behavioural action. Contrary to previous research, this served to facilitate rather than inhibit behavioural action. Finally, the results suggest that where sustainable behaviours are facilitated and/or required engagement in behaviour can be increased. These findings are important for public policy by highlighting the need to represent recycling behaviour in terms of temporal, spatial, social and hypothetical closeness. IntroductionResearch has consistently revealed widespread awareness and concern for ecological issues in a consumer context (e.g., Kilbourne & Beckmann, 1998;Polonsky, Vocino, Grau, Garma, & Ferdous, 2012;Rondinelli & Berry, 2000;Szekely & Knirsch, 2005;Steger, 2000;Van Wijk & Persoon, 2006). However, researchers are also challenged by the gap between ecological attitudes and corresponding behaviour (e.g., Carrigan & Attalla, 2001;Moraes, Carrigan & Szmigin, 2012;Papaoikonomou, Ryan, & Ginieis, 2011;Young, Hwang, McDonald, & Oates, 2010) across a range of sustainable behaviours, including recycling (e.g., Kok & Siero, 1985;Nigbur, Evanthia, & Uzzell, 2010).Sustainability and recycling behaviour are interrelated, with recycling viewed as a key issue in sustainability (Fuller, Allen, & Glaser, 1996) and dominantly as a proenvironmental consumer behaviour (e.g., Barr & Gilg, 2005;Steg & Vlek, 2009;Welfens, Nordmann, & Seibt, 2015). As such, we understand recycling, among others, as a behaviour that may offer one fruitful pathway to a more sustainable consumer society. The Brundtland report defines sustainability as "a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (Brundtland Report, 1987, 1). Here we find a discourse which seeks to motivate individuals' consumption via future-oriented arguments, where some present inconvenience is associated with long-term benefits to others.Recycling is part of this discourse. Recycling "involves systematically converting specific types of waste into useful resources by breaking down objects into their 3 constituent parts, which are then reused" (Brosius, Fernandez, & Cherrier, 2013, 288).Engaging in recycling now should have future benefits. Questioned, however, is the extent to which this "future-for-...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recycling today, sustainability tomorrow: Effects of psychological distance on behavioural practice

Schill

Shaw

2016

European Management Journal

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“…Few attempts have been made to incorporate the incentive-payment effects which encourage consumers to return waste plastics and to ensure the quality of returns within the location modeling . However, these models were based on collection and recycling of a single-product ( Welfens et al, 2015). Consideration of multi-product varieties into the modeling process has been sparse.…”

Section: Literature Review On Modeling Plastic Recyclingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated optimization model and methodology for plastics recycling: Indian empirical evidence

Sheriff

Subramanian

Rahman

et al. 2017

Journal of Cleaner Production

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Research Highlights• We develop a decision model to integrate three decisions pertaining to location, allocation, and routing of different varieties of recycled plastics.• We validate the model using data retrieved from a case study in India using a conventional decomposed modelling approach.• Our integrated model reduces over ten percent of total recycling costs for both single and multiple products in the Indian context.• Managers need to cluster the customers based on the facility location and offer attractive incentives to reduce cost and increase benefits. Integrated optimization model and methodology for plastics recycling: Indian empirical evidence AbstractWe develop a decision model to integrate three decisions pertaining to location, allocation, and routing of different varieties of recycled plastics. Our decision model allocates recycling collection points to the available centralized return center based on its capacity and ensures similar allocation to all facilities via optimal routing for trucks. The study addresses several pertinent questions such as how to deal with higher collection cost, how to develop a model that jointly considers operational cost reduction along with the achievement of higher environmental benefits, how to reduce sub optimization which is quite common when using standalone decision models, and what are the feasible ways to increase the utilization of collection facilities. We validate the model using data retrieved from a case study in India using a conventional decomposed modelling approach. Our findings demonstrate that the proposed integrated model reduces over ten percent of total recycling costs for both single and multiple products. The results also suggest managers to reduce variances in product quality levels in order to achieve substantial total costs reduction. In addition, to increase the plastic recycling returns and reduce the operational cost, managers need to cluster the customers based on the facility location and offer attractive incentives.

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“…Additionally, given that a mobile phone comes with an “ecological rucksack,” which is 940 times heavier than the phone itself (Welfens et al. ), recycling of those metals can produce new materials with a lower environmental impact than extracting as virgin ore from the ground (Frey et al ; Navazo et al. ).…”

Section: Background To the Life Cycle Of A Mobile Phonementioning

confidence: 99%

“…It may be possible for the informal sector to have a viable part in a cleaner recycling of electronics (Davis and Garb ), while providing an income (Lepawsky and Billah ), but only if the barriers to effective collection of old phones can be overcome (Welfens et al. ).…”

Section: Background To the Life Cycle Of A Mobile Phonementioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Environmental and Social Life Cycle Assessment: Asking the Right Question

Suckling

Lee

2017

J of Industrial Ecology

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Mobile phones offer many potential social benefits throughout their lifetime, but this life is often much shorter than design intent. Reuse of the phone in a developing country allows these social benefits to be fully realized. Unfortunately, under the current state of development of recycling infrastructure, recovery rates of phones after reuse are very low in those markets, which may lead to an environmental burden due to loss of materials to landfill. In order to recover those materials most effectively, recycling in developed countries may be the best option, but at a cost of the ability to reuse the phones. The issues facing integration of social and environmental concerns into a single life cycle assessment and resulting challenges of identifying the disposal option with the most sustainable outcome are explored using mobile phones as a case study. These include obtaining sufficient geographical and temporal detail of the end of life options, the collation and analysis of the large amounts of data generated and the weighting of the disparate environmental and social impact categories. The numerous challenges may mount up to make performing life cycle assessment of mobile phones unwieldy. Instead of trying to encompass every aspect in full, it is proposed that focus is given to answering a question which takes into account the resources available: it is important to ask the question which has the best chance of being answered

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Drivers and barriers to return and recycling of mobile phones. Case studies of communication and collection campaigns

Cited by 94 publications

References 23 publications

Recycling today, sustainability tomorrow: Effects of psychological distance on behavioural practice

Recycling today, sustainability tomorrow: Effects of psychological distance on behavioural practice

Integrated optimization model and methodology for plastics recycling: Indian empirical evidence

Integrating Environmental and Social Life Cycle Assessment: Asking the Right Question

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