Household practices regarding e-waste management: A case study from Brazil

This paper presents a survey focused on the prior knowledge, habits, attitudes and practice of Brazilian families on e-waste management and the factors associated with household e-waste behaviors. The study was conducted with 380 families of Caruaru, a Brazilian municipality. Regarding household waste management, only 9% of households segregate and dispose of waste properly. Other households store e-waste at home (36%), donate (23%), sell to third parties (8%), or dispose of it with common waste (24%). Moreover, the survey showed that families have basic knowledge about the problem of e-waste and present a positive motivation regarding e-waste management practices. A positive intention to purchase used and manufactured products was also identified, favoring a possible future market for these products. Finally, according to the main findings of this research, improving families’ awareness about source separation and providing infrastructure for collection should be among the main municipal management guidelines for e-waste in the area analyzed. [Display omitted] •Only 9% of households dispose of their e-waste in a proper manner.•Most families keep obsolete or broken electronic devices at home.•Most people have a positive behavioral belief regarding e-waste recycling.•Cell phone refurbishing is a promising market.•It is important to improve communication and infrastructure for e-waste collection.