Apprise of Used Electrical and Electronic Equipment in Residential Houses of Citizens of Yazd City and Determination of Their Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Electronic and Electrical Waste Management

Abstract

Introduction: The production of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) has grown rapidly in recent years. It is necessary to determine the amount of them for its effective management. The aim of this study was to determine the amount of WEEE stored in the houses of Yazd citizens and the level of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) of citizens regarding WEEE management.

Materials and Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out using random sampling on 300 Yazdian citizens. To determine the amount of WEEE stored in houses and the level of KAP of people regarding WEEE, was used a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity and reliability were confirmed and data analysis was performed using nonparametric tests in SPSS.

Results: The amount of WEEE in the study population was 21.8 metric tons was obtained. Of these, the highest amount of waste was related to the refrigerator with 3.9 metric tons and the highest number of used equipment stored was related to cell phone, with 285 units. The levels of knowledge (with a mean score of 5.06 ± 2.5), attitude (with a mean score of 43.37 ± 5.21), and practice (with a mean score of 10.71 ± 2.95) were respectively in moderate, good and moderate conditions.

Conclusion: Given planning by the Waste Organization leads to job creation, access to valuable raw materials, and environmental protection. With increasing knowledge about the proper use of electronic and electrical equipment, their useful life can be increased and the process of their conversion to waste can be extended.