Why do Spanish households separate their e-waste for proper disposal? An econometric analysis

Fernando Arbués,Inmaculada Villanúa

doi:10.1007/s11356-021-15933-9

Fernando Arbués, Inmaculada Villanúa

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15933-9

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Abstract

Improving e-waste separate collection rates is of the utmost importance to achieve the environmental targets set in the Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the factors influencing the intentions of Spanish households to separate their e-waste for proper disposal. To this end, we carry out an econometric analysis revealing that the preoccupation with environmental issues is an endogenous regressor, so a bivariate model is required to avoid inconsistent results. The analysis shows that environmental concern and the origin of the individuals are relevant factors that influence the e-waste separation decision. Additionally, we observe an interaction between age and city size, so the effect of one of these factors on the probability of separating e-waste depends on the other factor. Another important result is that several socio-economic variables and knowledge of environmental issues only indirectly affect attitudes, by way of environmental concern. In summary, this study offers a useful methodology to policymakers who have to deal with e-waste management, allowing them to identify the priority groups on which should be focused, as well as to design specific measures tailored to their characteristics.

Highlights

The use of electrical equipment and electronic devices has become a typical feature of modern society
Increasing levels of e-waste is a major challenge for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (United Nations 2015), those related to 3.9, 8.3, 8.8, 11.6, 12.4, and 12.5 specific targets (United Nations 2015). In this context, where the adoption of measures to promote the separate collection of e-waste becomes a priority, the purpose of this study is to identify the behaviours and characteristics of households that influence the participation of Spanish households in the separate disposal of e-waste
The main contributions of our empirical work can be summarized as follows: (1) the estimation of a bivariate probit model with interaction effects to identify the factors determining the correct disposal of e-waste, which has not been used in the context of e-waste studies; (2) since, as we have indicated above, households are an important source of e-waste in most European countries, the results of our analysis can be very useful in exploring ways of reducing the percentage of such waste that households dispose of

Summary

Introduction

The use of electrical equipment and electronic devices has become a typical feature of modern society. According to the European Commission (2020), e-waste is growing at 3% to 5 % per year, three times faster than the average waste stream, and EUROSTAT (2021a) shows that only 38.9% is properly recycled. In this context, it should be noted that households are the main source of e-waste in all EU countries (EUROSTAT 2021b). Between 2008 and 2018, 7.172 million tons of electrical and electronic devices for households were put on the market (EUROSTAT 2021b), which indicates the potential e-waste available from Spanish households in the coming years

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