E-waste Management for Environmental Sustainability: an Exploratory Study

Abstract

This paper aims to reveal the role of e-waste management practices for environmental sustainability and explores people’s awareness level about e-waste management, its generation, and primary treatment practices in educational institutions. The empirical study is conducted in India through a well-structured questionnaire distributed among engineering students. Six critical aspects of e-waste, i.e., generation, management, nature of e-waste components, progressive use of e-waste management, control, and training, are studied. This study’s outcome reveals that the awareness level of e-waste generation and its processing practices are deficient, but the extended producer responsibility concept is becoming influential. Despite appreciable steps taken by the competent authorities, only a small population is aware of e-waste management. The respondents are aware of the hazardous effects of e-waste and its progressive usage. The ‘inclusion of e-waste in study programs’ is desired by the prospective engineering graduates.