Abstract
Electronic wastes and their management have been a global challenge because of their environmental effect and threat to human health from manufacturing and production (which may require extensive mining) to disposal (chemical hazard) from its components. This paper aims to assess the awareness and behavior of students from higher education towards their e-wastes. The research also tests on the association of their courses with the accumulation of electronic equipment that can be candidates for e-wastes also the correlation between owning gadgets with program and family monthly income. Results of the survey reveal that only a few of the total number of respondents participate in e-waste recycling despite being aware of the valuable components of e-wastes and that e-waste should be separated from other solid wastes. Awareness of the collection sites in the Philippines (malls, schools) was rarely expressed from the total respondents and their behavior on how they treat their e-wastes is alarming. Most of the students keep their wastes and rarely participate in recycling. Analysis revealed that ownership of some electronic equipment is not associated with the kind of course program they are enrolled in but is not true for some equipment included in the survey. Their course program and family monthly income showed significant association with the number of gadgets the student use. Overall, the results reveal a highly negative response regarding e-waste and its management from the respondents. Similar results were gathered from the survey where students negatively respond as to how they dispose of their e-waste.
Author Information
Evangeline Enriquez, College of Saint Benilde, Philippines
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