E-waste management in selected institutions of higher learning in the Klang Valley, Malaysia / Pearson Kasapo
“E-waste” is the term popularly used to refer to end-of-life or discarded electrical and electronic equipment. Institutions of higher learning (universities) contribute significantly to the rapidly growing threat of E-waste. This research seeks to establish if there are any institutional mechanisms...
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| Summary: | “E-waste” is the term popularly used to refer to end-of-life or discarded electrical and electronic equipment. Institutions of higher learning (universities) contribute significantly to the rapidly growing threat of E-waste. This research seeks to establish if there are any institutional mechanisms for E-waste management and assess the level of university public (staff and student) knowledge on E-waste. The research focused mainly on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) E-waste management in selected universities in the Klang Valley of Central Region, Malaysia. ICT equipment (computers, printers, copiers) are the most widely used and frequently replaced electronics in universities and if not soundly managed pose grave environmental hazards because of their components which contain toxic substances such as lead, nickel, beryllium, mercury, cadmium, chromium, copper, lithium etc.
Through a thorough study of eight (8) universities in the Klang Valley, the research established that none of the institutions had a deliberate or dedicated policy for E-waste management. However, the universities use a host of general end-of-life asset management practices (i.e. keeping in storage, donate to charity, sell to recyclers/traders) which also catered for the management of E-waste thus to varying degrees reduce the potential negative impacts of institutional E-waste.
Material Flow Analysis (MFA) modeling was conducted to increase understanding of university E-waste management systems from asset purchase, use, end-of-life and disposal. Furthermore, MFA also led to better system analysis which aid in giving practical recommendations for sustainable university E-waste management. STAN (subSTance flow ANalysis) 2.5 software was used to perform the MFA modeling providing graphical models of university E-waste management, data reconciliation, error propagation and gross error detection. Findings of the research show that the selected universities that took part in the study generated 100 metric tonnes of ICT E-waste in 2012 with an estimated market value of RM0.3million (US$98,500). The study also found that 7.5 metric tonnes of E-waste was discarded into the MSW stream thus contributing to heavy metal contamination in landfill or dump sites and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) options i.e. take-back in university systems were practically nonexistent.
The research also endeavored to assess university public knowledge on E-waste and using simple random sampling, 400 university public were interviewed. And with the aid of SPSS software the research established that university public knowledge or awareness on E-waste, sound E-waste management practices and the potential environmental and human health hazards posed by E-waste, was extremely low. However, the university public showed a positive willingness to learn more about E-waste. Based on the research findings it was recommended that universities in the Klang Valley and beyond should formulate and implement environmentally sound E-waste management policies. These policies should include for the increased E-waste collection and recycling through e.g. provision of collection bins (GreenBox) and E-waste collection days, ensure that sensitive data carrying E-wastes have their hard drives formatted or shredded before being sold or donated and promote university public knowledge on E-waste through awareness campaigns.
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