E-Waste Management and Residents’ Willingness to Pay for Household E-Waste Recycling in Kuching Division, Sarawak

Seik Yng, Tang (2023) E-Waste Management and Residents’ Willingness to Pay for Household E-Waste Recycling in Kuching Division, Sarawak. Masters thesis, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

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Abstract

'E-waste' or WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) refers to electronic and electrical appliances that are no longer beneficial to consumers. An increasing amount of e-waste generated due to an increased demand for EEE (electronic and electrical equipment) production from 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 stock have urged the need to increase the amount of household e-waste recycled. This thesis aims to examine the resident's willingness to pay (WTP) for household e-waste recycling (HEWR) in Kuching, Sarawak. Quota sampling method was employed to select a total number of 397 respondents representing 397 households staying in the Kuching, Bau, and Lundu districts of the Kuching Division, Sarawak. A questionnaire survey was administered among the selected residents living in Kuching, Sarawak. 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 varies based on the distinctive types of household electrical appliances they possess. In this study, 10 types of household electrical appliances were selected and the average amount 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 the purchased values of their respective electrical home appliances. The findings also revealed that there is a significant association between the respondents’ age and their willingness to pay for the recycling of e-waste. A rather surprising finding from the study is that no statistically significant association is found between educational level, level of income, and willingness to pay for the recycling of e- iv waste. Therefore, the study recommends that more environmental education programs are to be carried out or even to be embedded in the formal education system to sensitize the residents and children to the risks associated with e-waste besides imparting the polluter pays principles among the residents to promote sustainable e-waste management, particularly among the growing population in Kuching, Sarawak.

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