Students’ Awareness of E-waste and Its Disposal Practices: a Conceptual Framework

Abstract

An exponential increase in technology consumption at an individual level boosted e-waste generation. Pakistan is among a few countries generating and receiving enormous e-waste, thus positing a threat to our future generations. A review of recent studies also suggested a dire need to explore e-waste awareness and its disposal practices to design policies for avoiding the most likely threat to human and environmental health. To this end, we explored consumer awareness of e-waste and noticeable factors hindering the disposal of laptops, personal computers, and mobiles. The study used the qualitative research approach and non-probability sampling. We collected data through four Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with students of a Pakistani university. After data saturation, we developed themes from FGDs and points jotted down in the self-memos. We found computer sciences and engineering students with better awareness than other students. The factors hindering e-waste disposal were lower monetary benefits for disposing of, breach of sensitive information, nostalgic association with devices, and non-availability of disposal facilities. Other variables like lower resale value and high family sharing increased the storage of e-devices and curbed e-waste disposal. The research is among a few initial attempts to explore e-waste awareness and factors hindering disposal behavior in e-waste receiving countries (e.g., Pakistan) and provides evidence from students who are the primary users. Our findings are crucial for policymakers and tech companies to take corrective actions, introduce monetary benefits, and secure disposal facilities to increase e-waste disposal.