E-WASTE MANAGEMENT IN MALAYSIA: RESIDENTS’ WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR HOUSEHOLD E-WASTE RECYCLING IN KUCHING, SARAWAK

• Main Authors: Tang, Seik Yng, Wong, Swee Kiong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Research and Scientific Innovation Society 2023
• Subjects: H Social Sciences (General); HB Economic Theory
• Online Access: http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/44195/1/E-Waste.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/44195/; https://www.rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/articles/e-waste-management-in-malaysia-residents-willingness-to-pay-for-household-e-waste-recycling-in-kuching-sarawak/

‘E-waste’ refers to electronic and electrical appliances that are no longer beneficial to consumers. An increasing amount of e-waste generated due to an increasing demand for electrical and electronic equipment in line with the rapid growth of the global population has become a growing global concern. Furthermore, limitation of the assimilative capacity of the environment and depleting natural resources have also urged the need to prioritize sustainable household e-waste management. This paper aims to examine the resident’s willingness to pay for household e-waste recycling in Kuching, Sarawak. A questionnaire survey was administered among 397 residents living in Kuching. The findings of the study show that majority of the residents in Kuching are not willing to pay for household e-waste recycling of electrical appliances such as fridges (50.6%) and fans (59.4%). However, it also depends on the distinctive types of household electrical appliances they possess. In this study, 10 types of household electrical appliances were selected and the average cost of WTP is expressed based on a percentage of its purchased values of the respective electrical household items listed. It was found that residents from Kuching are only willing to pay an average of 2.3% till 2.6% of recycling fees based on 10 types of the purchased values of their electrical home appliances in this study. This could be explained by the findings that show a low awareness level of sustainable e-waste management practices among the residents in Kuching. Therefore, the study recommends that more environmental education programs are to be carried out in the formal education system to sensitize the residents and children to the risks associated with the importance of household e-waste recycling to promote sustainable household e-waste management, particularly among the growing population in Kuching, Sarawak. Chiam (2013) reported that the residents of Kuching lack knowledge of how to manage their household e-waste and are unaware of the available recycling facilities in the region. However, over time, the e-waste management situation in Kuching has improved, with more recycling facilities being made available to the public for proper disposal of e-waste (Louis, 2020). The Kuching Integrated Waste Management Park, which caters to municipal solid waste and scheduled waste (including e-waste), is claimed to be one of the first integrated waste management parks in Southeast Asia (Trienkens, n. d.).