Understanding Consumer E-Waste Recycling Behavior: Introducing a New Economic Incentive to Increase the Collection Rates
1
Scientific Department, Sumy National Agrarian University, 40021 Sumy, Ukraine
2
Consumption Research Norway (SIFO), Oslo Metropolitan University, 0130 Oslo, Norway
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2019, 11(9), 2656; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11092656
Received: 2 March 2019 / Revised: 28 April 2019 / Accepted: 30 April 2019 / Published: 9 May 2019
(This article belongs to the Section Environmental Sustainability and Applications)
Consumer electronics are made of a wide range of materials, including precious metals and critical minerals with limited global reserves. Ensuring the recycling of these materials is essential for future use, especially since many renewable energy solutions are based on them. In addition, improper end-of-life treatments of these products cause harm to the environment and human health. This study explores the incentives that have been used to increase consumer collection rates for end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment (EoL EEE). Based on extensive global literature reviews, we propose an alternative to existing consumer incentives. The research suggests that implementing an economic incentive based on the electronic bonus card system (EBCS) has several benefits compared to existing incentives. It compensates the consumers for the transaction costs of proper collection and satisfies the consumer perception of EoL EEE as having a residual value. However, application of the EBCS motivation technology will require the cooperation of various stakeholders, including electronics producers and national and international authorities.
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Keywords:
pro-circular behavior; consumer behavior; reuse; recycling; e-waste; separate collection; motivation; economic incentives; electrical and electronic equipment
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MDPI and ACS Style
Shevchenko, T.; Laitala, K.; Danko, Y. Understanding Consumer E-Waste Recycling Behavior: Introducing a New Economic Incentive to Increase the Collection Rates. Sustainability 2019, 11, 2656. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11092656
AMA Style
Shevchenko T, Laitala K, Danko Y. Understanding Consumer E-Waste Recycling Behavior: Introducing a New Economic Incentive to Increase the Collection Rates. Sustainability. 2019; 11(9):2656. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11092656
Chicago/Turabian StyleShevchenko, Tetiana, Kirsi Laitala, and Yuriy Danko. 2019. "Understanding Consumer E-Waste Recycling Behavior: Introducing a New Economic Incentive to Increase the Collection Rates" Sustainability 11, no. 9: 2656. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11092656
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