School of Engineering, Macquarie University, NSW, 2109, Australia.
School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
J Environ Manage. 2020 Dec 1;275:111111. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111111. Epub 2020 Aug 20.
Electronic waste (e-waste) is one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the world and waste mobile phone (WMP) represents a significant portion of the stream. Consumer awareness, consumption, and disposal behavior are of importance to assist in the implementation the circular economy. In Australia, some 94% of the adult population has a mobile phone, and the only WMP collection and recycling program in the country - "MobileMuster" is operating under a voluntary scheme. This study reveals consumers' familiarity with the program, current consumption, and disposal behavior concerning mobile phones from a survey implemented in Sydney, Australia. In addition to descriptive analysis, statistical analysis (with the Chi-square test of independence and Multinomial Logistic Regression (MLR)) identifies factors that influenced the behaviors. The results show that only one-third of the respondents (32.42%) were aware of the program, and that there are 3.65 mobile phones in use per household, with an average possession lifespan of 3.17 years (including storage). Furthermore, there is a positive relationship between age and possession of mobile phones, and respondents discard or change their mobile phones while they were still working or repairable. The main reasons for disposing of mobile phones relate to them being either damaged/not functioning, lacking additional features, or having a backdated capacity. Storing (hoarding) mobile phones after active use was found predominant, and, more specifically, respondents aged 18-24 and 25-29 preferred to store their WMPs instead of taking them to collection points. The results reveal a need for environmental awareness-raising campaigns concerning WMPs recycling.
电子废物（电子垃圾）是世界上增长最快的废物之一，废弃手机（WMP）占该废物的很大一部分。消费者的意识、消费和处置行为对于协助实施循环经济非常重要。在澳大利亚，约 94%的成年人拥有手机，而该国唯一的 WMP 收集和回收计划——“MobileMuster”是在自愿计划下运作的。这项研究揭示了消费者对该计划的熟悉程度、当前的消费和处置手机的行为，这是在澳大利亚悉尼进行的一项调查。除了描述性分析，统计分析（使用独立性卡方检验和多项逻辑回归（MLR））确定了影响行为的因素。结果表明，只有三分之一的受访者（32.42%）知道该计划，每个家庭平均有 3.65 部正在使用的手机，平均拥有寿命为 3.17 年（包括存储）。此外，年龄与拥有手机之间存在正相关关系，受访者在手机仍在工作或可修复时丢弃或更换手机。处置手机的主要原因是手机损坏/无法正常工作、缺少附加功能或容量已过时。在积极使用后储存（囤积）手机被发现很普遍，更具体地说，18-24 岁和 25-29 岁的受访者更喜欢将 WMP 储存起来，而不是将其送到收集点。结果表明，需要开展有关 WMP 回收的环境意识提高活动。
