Preliminary Study on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Management by Households in the Kota Kinabalu City

Abstract

The rising amount of e-waste can be attributed to many factors such as the advancement in technology, a variety of electric and electronic equipment (EEE) offered in the market, electric and electronic (EE) product becoming cheaper and exceedingly high demands. E-waste is believed to be mostly generated from domestic items because there is no systematic management of e-waste from households, particularly in many developing countries. The non-systematic management will have an adverse impact on the environment and human. Therefore, this study attempts to uncover the current state of affairs involving e-waste management by households in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The objectives of this study are to identify the composition of electric and electronic equipment owned by households in the selected housing area and to evaluate the behavior of households in managing their e-waste. This study used a survey method using 100 sets of questionnaires which were distributed to respondents in the selected housing area. The results showed that mobile phones are dominating the category of electric and electronic equipment in the study area. In addition, most respondents do not adopt sustainable e-waste management such as recycling which is vital, as many prefer to store them at home or throw them to the rubbish bin. In conclusion, this study has shown that e-waste management scenarios in Kota Kinabalu are not particularly sustainable. The findings of this study can also lead to implication for creating awareness to stakeholders such as the City Hall of Kota Kinabalu and the Department of Environment so that both stakeholders could design a proper e-waste management system as part of an effort to create sustainable e-waste management.