I believe that, before we can tackle the issue of e-waste, we must understand how the general population perceive the problem.  In this section, I will outline attitudes towards the recycling of e-waste, as well as understanding of the issue in general.

One study by Echegaray and Hansstein (2016) suggests that the problem isn’t with public attitudes, but rather with the disconnect between intentions and behaviours.  The study assessed recycling of electronic waste in Brazil in terms of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB).

The Theory of Planned Behaviour is a model that seeks to explain how an individual’s beliefs are linked to their actions.  According to the theory, there are three constructs that influence behavioural intention:

1. Attitudes – the way in which we evaluate a behaviour
2. Subjective norms – whether or not we believe the action would be seen as desirable by others (social values)
3. Perceived behavioural control – how easy or difficult we perceive an action to be

Echegray and Hansstein (2016) built upon the Theory of Planned Behaviour to explain people’s actions in relation to the recycling of electronic waste.  Their model explained that, the three above constructs all contributed to predicting an individual’s likelihood to recycle e-waste.  They also proposed some additional factors that predicted behaviour:

• Demographic
• Socioeconomic status
• Awareness of the issue
• Personal assessment of the environment

TPB applied to electronic waste (Echegray & Hansstein, 2016)

This means that individuals are more likely to recycle e-waste if they understand the problems caused by e-waste, and they are influenced by their peers’ views regarding the issue.

The study found that intention to recycle electronic waste was more likely than taking actions to recycle e-waste.  The results indicated that positive attitudes and strong social norms were the most likely to predict behavioural intention.  Awareness of the issue was also found to influence an individual’s intentions to recycle.

The conclusions drawn from Echegray and Hansstein’s (2016) study can help us to understand how social awareness can be used to promote the recycling of electronic waste.  The results emphasise the fact that we can encourage more sustainable behaviours by using social norms.  Participants whose social norms promoted recycling were more likely to view the behaviour as being important, and so raising awareness of e-waste recycling may make individuals more likely to take action and reduce the impact of electronic waste.

One issue is that, as the study found, good intentions to not always lead to positive behaviours.  Therefore, I would suggest that we should provide more facilities and opportunities for people to recycle e-waste.  By making it easier for people to take action, I believe that individuals would become more likely to make positive changes to protect the environment.