Waste Management 102 (2020) 474–485

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Waste Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wasman

Domestic flow of e-waste in São Paulo, Brazil: Characterization to

support public policies
Angela C. Rodrigues a, Maria E.G. Boscov b, Wanda M.R. Günther c,⇑
a
Foundation School of Sociology and Politics of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
b
Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
c
Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Understanding the domestic flow of e-waste is essential for efficient waste management in urban con-
Received 18 June 2019 texts. However, diagnosis of domestic e-waste flow is complex due to its diffuse generation and depen-
Revised 17 September 2019 dence on consumer behavior. Here, we characterized domestic e-waste flow in São Paulo, Brazil (a
Accepted 28 October 2019
megacity with roughly 11 million inhabitants in 3.5 million households), describing the stages of product
acquisition, out-of-use storage, and end-of-life destination, via a population-based cross-sectional study
using a statistically representative sample. We conducted household interviews using a structured ques-
Keywords:
tionnaire, with questions on characteristics, quantities, and behaviors of acquisition, replacement, stor-
Consumer behavior
Domestic flow
age, repair, and destination for 26 electric and electronic equipment (EEE) categories. Each household
E-waste had on average 21 EEE (95% confidence interval [CI]: 19.7–21.7), of which 18 were in use and 3 were
Public policy out-of-use. Out-of-use storage was common, occurring in 72.6% of households. Discarded EEE (i.e., e-
Household survey waste) was destined for intended reuse (59.5%; 95% CI: 57.4–61.5%), recycling (20.4%; 95% CI: 18.8–
22.1%), and, particularly for small EEE, municipal waste (16.0%; 95% CI: 14.5–17.6%). Other aspects of
domestic e-waste flow (e.g., place and time of acquisition, second-hand acquisition, donation, intention
to repair damaged EEE, and storage) were quantified and related to actions for public policies. This
research shows that household surveys are useful for obtaining primary data to verify consumer behavior
toward EEE. We expect the findings of this study to support decision-making for public policies related to
e-waste management, particularly in countries where reverse logistics systems are in the initial phase of
implementation.
Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction The discussion surrounding this issue is relatively new in Brazil;

Brazil is a large developing country with about 190 million
inhabitants and high cultural diversity, which presents rapid pro-
duction and consumption dynamics of electric and electronic
equipment (EEE) similar to developed countries. However, unlike
developed countries with successful implementation of reverse
logistics systems, end-of-service e-waste disposal is inadequate
in Brazil. This problem encompasses the entire Brazilian territory,
and is aggravated by the lack of structured e-waste management
systems, the lack of a specific legal regulatory framework, and
the common practice of discarding unserviceable e-waste as
municipal solid waste or in unmechanized waste sorting centers
(Gomes et al., 2011; Parajuly et al., 2016; Johnson et al., 2018).
⇑ Corresponding author at: Department of Environmental Health, School of Public
Health, University of Sao Paulo, Avenida Doutor Arnaldo, 715, Cerqueira César, São
Paulo, SP 01246-904, Brazil.
E-mail address: wgunther@usp.br (W.M.R. Günther).
only in the last decade were the first academic studies on e-waste
published (Rodrigues, 2007; Franco, 2008) and the National Policy
on Solid Waste (Law No. 12305; Brasil, 2010) instituted. This fed-
eral law establishes that the implementation of reverse logistics
for post-consumption waste is a shared responsibility of EEE pro-
ducers, importers, distributors, traders, and consumers.
Knowledge of waste generation and disposal characteristics is
essential for adequate e-waste management. However, e-waste is
diffusely generated through diverse daily activities and is not
restricted to either private households or industrial productive
processes. For instance, EEE use is pervasive throughout the service
industry, as well as teaching and research, medical, financial, and
commercial institutions, and in entertainment and leisure enter-
prises. Given the ubiquity of EEE, e-waste is omnipresent and fol-
lows distinct flows. Directive 2012/19/EU specifically mentions
two distinct flows to establish financial responsibilities: e-waste
‘‘from private households” and that ‘‘from other than private
households” (OJ L, 2012).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2019.10.052
0956-053X/Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 A.C. Rodrigues et al. / Waste Management 102 (2020) 474–485
Influencing factors for the generation and disposal of e-waste
from sources other than private households include production
and consumption models, economic and technological develop-
ment, industrial business strategies, public policy implementation,
and the activity sector of the generator (in the case of non-private
households). Additionally, for domestic-originated e-waste flow,
user behavior respective to acquisition/replacement, maintenance
of damaged equipment, and storage of out-of-use equipment must
also be considered (Cooper, 2004; Saphores et al., 2009;
Milovantseva and Saphores, 2013). Furthermore, domestic e-
waste is not replaced at regular intervals, whereas institutional
e-waste, mostly represented by information technology (IT) equip-
ment and supplies, is replaced relatively regularly according to
obsolescence forecasts.
Differing from other types of waste, e-waste generation is not
estimated directly from collected waste but rather from EEE pro-
duction and sales data, lifespan, and average weight (EEA, 2003;
Peralta and Fontanos, 2006; Oguchi et al., 2008; Matthews et al.,
2014), without no specification of waste categories. However, such
evaluations of the total quantity generated are insufficient for
policy- and decision-making regarding e-waste management;
instead, distinct flows must be individually understood and quan-
tified. For domestic flow, it is important to determine the cate-
gories, quantities, and duration of use of EEE in households (both
in-use and stored out-of-use equipment). In addition, studies
should identify and consider user behavior (e.g., intentions regard-
ing the ultimate destination) and associated uncertainties (e.g.,
replacement motives such as breakage, obsolescence, social status,
etc.), which are influenced by socioeconomic and cultural charac-
teristics. Finally, to obtain precise and accurate estimations of
domestic flow, primary data should be used, as proposed in this
study.
In Brazil, there are no official data on domestic e-waste genera-
tion. Studies conducted by Rodrigues (2007), FEAM (2009), Araújo
et al. (2012), based on secondary data, estimated average genera-
tion potentials for Brazil of 2.6, 3.4, and 3.8 items per capita,
respectively. Subsequently, using primary data, Rodrigues et al.
(2015) calculated the waste generation as 2.9–6.0 kg/habitant/year
for São Paulo, whereas Abbondanza and Souza (2019) obtained a
value of 4.0 kg/habitant/year for the city of São José dos Campos.
Although estimates of total average e-waste generation have been
calculated, no studies have characterized e-waste flow in Brazil, in
particular for domestic e-waste.
In the present study, we characterized the domestic flow of e-
waste for São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, with a population
of over 11 million distributed in 3.5 million permanent private
households (IBGE, 2010), which generates an average of 534,000
ton/year of e-waste (Rodrigues et al., 2015). The characterization
was based on a population-based cross-sectional study using a
household questionnaire, which considered socioeconomic charac-
teristics, categories and amounts of EEE in households, duration of
EEE use, time of acquisition, acquisition and maintenance behavior,
and disposal alternatives.
2. Material and methods
The characterization of domestic EEE flow expanded the stages
considered by Cooper and Mayers (2000) in the Electronics indus-
try – Social Considerations of Product End-of-life (E-SCOPE) study,
conducted in the United Kingdom in 1998: (i) ownership/use; (ii)
storage, and (iii) destination. The first stage considers quantity,
time of acquisition, use, performance, place, and reasons for the
last acquisition of in-use EEE, and replacement and purchasing
intentions. The second stage, introduced in our study to reflect
the behavior of storing out-of-use goods, considers quantity, time
475
of acquisition, and performance of out-of-use EEE, factors deter-
mining the end of life, and actions and limits to extending service
life. The third stage focuses on the destination of e-waste (i.e., EEE
considered to be unserviceable) in the previous five years. E-Scope,
despite being an old study, works with quantities and behaviors,
and emphasizes EEE situations relevant to our research: in use,
out-of-use and discarded.
Surveys to obtain primary data on consumers’ behavior toward
EEE and e-waste are gaining relevance in the last two decades, with
significant number of published studies in this year (Abbondanza
and Souza, 2019; Blake et al., 2019, Chen et al., 2019; Kumar, A.,
2019; Nowakowski, 2019; Park et al., 2019; Ramzan et al., 2019;
Ravindra and Mor, 2019; Sajid et al., 2019; Wang et al., 2019;
Zhang et al., 2019a, 2019b), based on different methods: door-to-
door, on line and/or telephone; random or stratified; with general
or specific groups of respondents.
2.1. Selection of EEE categories
We performed preliminary surveys to identify the most com-
mon EEE categories in São Paulo households. First, a search of
EEE categories, offered on the websites of the three largest Brazil-
ian networks for electronic sales, yielded a total of 48 EEE cate-
gories. We limited the number of categories for further study to
the 26 most common EEE categories; this number was selected
based on the optimal duration for a face-to-face interview, which
was estimated by a preliminary test. In addition, 50 people (includ-
ing socially diverse students, faculty and staff from the University
of Sao Paulo) were selected randomly from their emails and were
sent the list of the 48 EEE categories. These interviewees were
asked to indicate which EEE categories were present in their
households, from which the 26 most frequent categories were
selected for the present study.
2.2. Household questionnaire for data collection
A structured questionnaire containing 39 questions was con-
structed based on the E-SCOPE survey (Cooper and Mayers,
2000), and adapted to the specific goals of this study, with consid-
eration of cultural differences between the United Kingdom and
Brazil. The questionnaire included the following types of informa-
tion: i) personal data of the respondent and socioeconomic data of
the household; ii) EEE categories in the household and use condi-
tions (i.e., in-use or out-of-use); iii) behavior regarding acquisition,
replacement, and repair of damaged EEE; iv) destination of EEE
that had been disposed within the 5 years preceding the survey;
and v) behavior related to the segregation and disposal of e-
waste, and potential participation in a selective collection program.
The present report explores the results of the three first items.
The Ethics Committee of the School of Public Health (University
of São Paulo, Brazil) reviewed and approved this research (Proto-
cols No. 225/09 and 255/09).
2.3. Sample size and selection
The size of the random sample was calculated using Eq. (1).
pqz2
n¼ 2
ð1Þ
d
where n is the sample size, p is the proportion of interest, q = 1  p,
z is the percentage of the normal distribution, and d is the maxi-
mum permissible error.
Considering that different proportions were estimated and that
there was no information in the literature, we opted for using the
50% value for proportion p, which, for a given precision, provides
476 A.C. Rodrigues et al. / Waste Management 102 (2020) 474–485
the largest sample size. The maximum permissible error was 5%,
with 5% significance (error a), resulting in a z value of 1.96. The size
of the minimum sample calculated for São Paulo was equal to 384
households. Sampling without reposition was adopted; therefore,
the sample size was adjusted to n = 480 to compensate for poten-
tial losses.
Household selection followed a two-stage cluster sampling pro-
cedure. First, 30 census tracts were randomly and systematically
selected among the 12,854 defined by the Brazilian Institute of
Geography and Statistics (IBGE, 2010) from the demographic cen-
sus of São Paulo. As secondary units, 16 households were system-
atically selected from each of the 30 tracts, yielding a total of 480
households.
2.4. Data collection
Data were collected via the 39-item questionnaire completed as
face-to-face interviews at each household. The respondents were
limited to household dwellers over 18 years of age. Preference
was given to the housewife, and in her absence, to the family head.
When direct contact with an interviewee was not achieved
(typically inhabitants of high-class multiple-story buildings that
were reluctant to participate or people that were not home), the
interviewer left contact information and an invitation to partici-
pate in the survey, with a request for a second visit at a future date.
The visit was repeated up to two times, as necessary; in case of fail-
ure, the household was discarded, as per the adopted method of
sampling without reposition.
Additional measures were adopted to ensure data quality: (i)
interviewers were selected with previous experience in inquiries;
(ii) the interviewer team was appropriately trained; (iii) interviews
were performed under supervision; (iv) questionnaires were
revised and validated; and (v) cards containing images of EEE
examples in the 26 categories were provided to stimulate the
respondents’ memory and to shorten the interview time.
In the beginning, the respondent was presented a set of 26 cards
and separated those of the EEE present in the household in the pre-
vious 5 years. After the cards were selected, the interview was
started, and comprised 9 questions for socioeconomic characteri-
zation, 17 questions regarding EEE, which were repeated for each
EEE category selected in the cards by the respondent, and 13 gen-
eral questions on disposal behavior, waste segregation, and partic-
ipation in collection programs.
The 5-years life span followed Cooper and Mayers (2000) to
make comparison with a previous household survey possible. It
was also considered as a time period where memories about EEE
acquisition could be easily recalled by the respondents for most
EEE categories. EEE categories that represented higher investments
may be remembered for longer periods, however this may be the
limit for some categories, more frequently replaced.
The authors endeavored to institutionalize the entire survey
process and identify it as a study from University of Sao Paulo:
interviewers wore identification badges; official documents were
presented; an institutional channel of communication was made
available; and presentation letters were sent explaining the objec-
tive of the survey.
The EEE durability data was based on Cooper and Mayers (2000)
and Oguchi et al. (2008), and EEE price data was surveyed at e-
commerce sites.
2.5. Data processing and analysis
The response database was created using the text recognition
software FlexiCapture 9.0 (ABBYY, Moscow, Russia), and statistical
analyses were performed using STATA ver. 12.0 (StataCorp, College
Station, TX, USA).
3. Results and discussion
From the initial sample (n = 480), the final sample of house-
holds (n = 395) included in the study exceeded the minimum cal-
culated sample size (n = 384) by 3%.
3.1. Population characterization
Of the 395 respondents, 66.3% were female, 56.7% were the
heads of their household, 51.1% had completed secondary or higher
education, and only 14.9% had incomplete primary education. Most
households declared their monthly income (n = 362; 91.6%). The
results were grouped into the following income ranges, expressed
as a multiple of the Brazilian monthly minimum wage (MW) at the
time of the survey (US$ 267): up to 2 MW (26.5% of households),
2–5 MW (46.4%), 5–10 MW (17.7%), and over 10 MW (9.4%). About
three-quarters (74.2%) of the respondents were the owners of their
houses.
Most family heads (n = 269; 68.1%) were economically active, in
a formal job (41.8%), as autonomous professionals (24.3%), or as
employers (2.0%). A large proportion of household heads (n = 95;
24.0%) was retired.
In total, 1,342 persons lived in the 395 surveyed households,
with an average of 3.4 persons/household (median: 3.0 persons/-
household; minimum: 1; maximum: 11). The mean age of the
dwellers was 47 and 63.2% of the dwellers were adults between
18 and 65 years old; children and adolescents up to 17 years of
age accounted for 27.3% and residents over 65 represented 9.4%.
3.2. In-use EEE
In total, 7,179 EEE items were in use in the 395 households (95%
confidence interval [CI]: 6,856–7,495) (Fig. 1). The mean was 18.2
items/household (95% CI: 17.4–19.0; minimum: 2; maximum: 60),
and the median was 17 items/household, with an interquartile
range of 11 (i.e., 50% of households had 12–23 items). Considering
the total 1,342 dwellers in the households, the per capita mean was
5.3 items. For comparison, the E-SCOPE study in the United King-
dom found 25 items/household (Cooper and Mayers, 2000),
whereas a study in Spain identified 30 items/household (UAM,
2011).
The most common types of EEE were mobile phones and televi-
sions (Table 1), with averages of 2.1 and 1.9 items/household,
respectively. Other common types of EEE included electric irons,
refrigerators, washing machines, electric fans, blenders, hair dryers
and flat irons, DVD players, and stereo systems, each with averages
of 1.0–1.1 items/household.
The acquisition time, representing the length of ownership, for
the different EEE categories varied considerably (Fig. 2); whereas
43% of freezers had been acquired more than 10 years prior, 74%
of LCD televisions had been acquired recently (less than2 years).
Most refrigeration equipment in use had been acquired over
5 years before the survey (78% of freezers and 56% of refrigerators).
In addition, at least 50% of videocassette players, freezers, refriger-
ators, radio receivers, vacuum cleaners, stereo systems, mixers, and
CRT television sets had been acquired over 5 years prior, of which
videocassette players (77%) and freezers (78%) most commonly
remained in use for longer durations. Both of these categories are
technologically outdated, and sales had decreased or products
were discontinued over the years; however, freezers have low
obsolescence and videocassette players are used by people who
still watch old forms of media.
In turn, most households had acquired LCD televisions and dis-
plays, MP3/MP4 players, notebooks, and mobile phones (i.e., IT
equipment) recently (less than2 years). Furthermore, in the 2 years
 A.C. Rodrigues et al. / Waste Management 102 (2020) 474–485 477

Fig. 1. Distribution of in-use EEE per household in São Paulo, Brazil.

Table 1 About 80% of all computers and printers had been acquired
Distribution of in-use EEE by category in São Paulo, Brazil. within 5 years; this trend was propelled by the government incen-
EQUIPMENT Number of Percent (%) Mean/
tive program Personal Computers for All at the national scale
in-use EEE household (Brasil, 2005). However, with the conclusion of this program in
2011, less frequent replacement of computers and printers is
Mobile phone 811 11.3 2.1
CRT television 736 10.3 1.9 expected. The government incentive programs to replace refriger-
Electric iron 441 6.1 1.1 ators, aimed at reducing energy consumption (i.e., the power sav-
Refrigerator 415 5.8 1.1 ing program for refrigerators (Globo, 2011), and to acquire ‘‘white
Washing machine 401 5.6 1.0
line” home appliances (i.e., the white-line program (Brasil, 2012),
Electric fan 394 5.5 1.0
Blender 385 5.4 1.0
did not present results as significant as those promoting digital
Hair dryer and flat iron 384 5.3 1.0 inclusion. However, the proportion of refrigerators in use for less
DVD player 381 5.3 1.0 than 5 years was 44%, indicating that replacement incentives had
Stereo system 379 5.3 1.0 not been effective for the majority of respondents.
Microwave oven 275 3.8 0.7
Finally, equipment with acquisition values below US$ 57 (corre-
Mixer 261 3.6 0.7
Sandwich toaster, grill 232 3.2 0.6 spondent to R$100, the largest Brazilian bill note) and of low dura-
and electric toaster bility (e.g., electric irons, hair dryers and flat irons, sandwich
Computer 221 3.1 0.6 toasters, and grills and electric toasters, i.e. small items of daily
Electric drill 206 2.9 0.5
use and that represent low investment) were also often replaced,
Radio receiver 189 2.6 0.5
MP3/MP4 player 172 2.4 0.4
since 67% had been acquired less than 5 years before the survey.
Vacuum cleaner 157 2.2 0.4 The length of ownership proved to be an adequate indicative of
Printer 155 2.2 0.4 replacement for each EEE category (substitution of an equipment
LCD display 118 1.6 0.3 by a new one), except for the case of introduction of new technolo-
CRT display 102 1.4 0.3
gies, when EEE is replaced by other EEE category (i.e. CRT display
Notebook 90 1.3 0.2
LCD television 81 1.1 0.2 replaced by LCD display).
VCR (videocassette player) 73 1.0 0.2
Electric shaver 71 1.0 0.2
3.3. Out-of-use equipment
Freezer 49 0.7 0.1
Total 7,179 100.0 18.2
We also considered equipment that was stored in the home, but
no longer used (i.e., stored in good condition, or broken but not dis-
carded), referred to as out-of-use EEE (Table 2). In 287 (72.6%) of
preceding the survey, the acquisition of CRT televisions was low the households, a total of 1,000 out-of-use items (95% CI: 886–
(16%), probably because they had been replaced by LCD televisions 1,122) were identified, equivalent to 3.5 items/household. The
(74%). Accordingly, 24% of the CRT televisions in use had been average calculated for all 395 households was 2.5 items/household.
acquired over 10 years before the survey and will likely be replaced Among the 287 households with out-of-use EEE, 216 (75.2%) had
with new technologies. 1–4 out-of-use EEE items, and 24.8% had 5 or more items.
478 A.C. Rodrigues et al. / Waste Management 102 (2020) 474–485

LCD television
MP3/MP4 player
Notebook
Mobile phone
LCD display
Hair dryer and flat iron
Computer
Electric iron
Printer
Sandwich toaster, grill and electric toaster
EEE categroy

DVD player
Blender
Electric shaver
Washing machine
Electric drill
Vacuum cleaner
CRT display
Microwave oven
Electric fan
Radio receiver
Mixer
Refrigerator
CRT television
Stereo system
VCR (videocassee player)
Freezer
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Percentage of acquired EEE

≤2yrs 2-5yrs 6-10yrs >10yrs

Fig. 2. In-use EEE based on length of ownership in São Paulo, Brazil.

Table 2
Distribution of out-of-use, discarded (total), and discarded in municipal waste EEE, by category, in São Paulo, Brazil.

EEE category Out-of-use Discarded (total)c Discardedc in municipal waste

Number Percent (%) Percent of Number Percent (%) Percent of Number Percent of discarded in
households with households that municipal waste relative
out-of-use EEEa (%) discard EEEb (%) to total discarded (%)
Mobile phone 243 24.3 31.6 368 15.8 47.3 55 15.0
Electric iron 118 11.8 23.8 250 10.7 51.1 79 21.6
VCR (videocassette player) 80 8.0 18.5 65 2.8 14.4 7 1.9
CRT television 60 6.0 12.4 222 9.5 46.2 22 6.0
Blender 41 4.1 9.6 160 6.9 40.8 51 13.9
Stereo system 40 4.0 9.4 121 5.2 26.1 11 3.0
CRT display 34 3.4 8.4 97 4.2 21.5 0 0.0
Computer 39 3.9 7.8 86 3.7 17.9 3 0.8
DVD player 35 3.5 7.6 68 2.9 15.8 4 1.1
Printer 39 3.9 7.3 45 1.9 10.9 4 1.1
Hair dryer and flat irons 34 3.4 7.1 77 3.3 15.8 23 6.3
Washing machine 26 2.6 6.3 139 6.0 35.1 9 2.5
Radio receiver 29 2.9 6.1 56 2.4 10.3 14 3.8
MP3/MP4 player 35 3.5 6.1 40 1.7 7.3 10 2.7
Electric fan 24 2.4 5.3 94 4.0 20.4 24 6.6
Freezer 16 1.6 4.1 14 0.6 3.8 0 0.0
Refrigerator 18 1.8 4.1 164 7.0 42.9 3 0.8
Vacuum cleaner 14 1.4 3.5 27 1.2 7.3 4 1.1
Mixer 14 1.4 3.5 63 2.7 15.5 14 4.1
Sandwich toaster, 13 1.3 3.3 22 0.9 4.6 2 0.5
grill and electric toaster
Electric drill 15 1.5 3.3 39 1.7 7.6 10 2.7
Electric shaver 13 1.3 3.0 11 0.5 2.7 5 1.4
Microwave oven 9 0.9 2.3 79 3.4 20.4 7 1.9
Notebook 6 0.6 1.5 12 0.5 3.0 0 0.0
LCD display 3 0.3 0.8 7 0.3 1.4 4 1.1
LCD television 2 0.2 0.5 6 0.3 1.6 0 0.0
Total 1,000 100 2,332 100
a
= 287 households with out-of-use EEE.
b
= 368 households that discarded EEE; written in bold: 5 more frequent categories.
c
= discarded EEE: e-waste.

Considering the total declared number of 8,179 EEE items pre- explained by the ‘‘treasure effect”, a cultural characteristic of keep-
sent in the households (95% CI: 7,790–8,570), the 1,000 items that ing unused items already observed in Spain: value is attributed to
were out-of-use represented 12.2% of the total. This finding may be an out-of-use product, which is not discarded and is kept inside a
 A.C. Rodrigues et al. / Waste Management 102 (2020) 474–485
drawer or in a deposit room, because the owner thinks that maybe
it will be used again (Ruiz, 2018). This pattern was further explored
based on the survey questions pertaining to the condition of out-
of-use EEE and repair behavior (see Section 3.5).
Mobile phones and electric irons predominated out-of-use EEE
(36.1%). Small items (e.g., mobile phones, electric irons, electric
drills, radio receivers, sandwich toasters, grills and electric toast-
ers, electric shavers, hair dryers and flat irons, blenders, mixers,
electric fans, and MP3/MP4 players) constituted the major propor-
tion of out-of-use EEE, accounting for 57.9% of the total. By con-
trast, large home appliances (e.g., washing machines,
refrigerators, and freezers) comprised only 6.0% of the total, possi-
bly related to the difficulty in finding space to store large items.
Additionally, these EEE are commonly accepted by scrap traders
for their ferrous metals and motors (Ono et al., 2010).
The respondents were also asked to report the presence of EEE
categories stored in the household aside from those in the 26 cat-
egories. In total, 29% of respondents affirmed the presence of such
items from over 33 additional EEE categories. The most cited items
were videogames, digital cameras, coffee makers, fruit juicers,
mobile chargers, electric ovens, and electric pans.
Among the 1,000 out-of-use EEE, 518 (51.8%) still functioned,
152 (15.2%) functioned partially, and 330 (33.0%) were damaged
(i.e., broken beyond repair). Some items (e.g., notebooks, micro-
wave ovens, washing machines, electric drills, stereo systems,
printers, DVD players, electric irons, and blenders) were stored in
unusable conditions (i.e., more than 50% damaged or only partially
functional) (Fig. 3). This again indicated a strong inclination
towards storing EEE, which would potentially be discarded (poten-
tial waste) if reverse logistic systems were implemented.
Circa half out-of-use mobile phones were still functional (52%),
while 59% of the mobile phones were substituted in the last two
years (Fig. 2). This indicates that substitution is not strictly related
to damage, but also to programmed obsolescence (more fashion-
able equipment or with new functionalities). The same trend
may be noticed in the case of IT equipment. Therefore, it is impor-
tant to consider programmed obsolescence of cell phones and
information technology equipment to sustain a public policy of
reverse logistics.
Washing machine
Notebook
Stereo system
Electric drill
Microwave oven
DVD player
Printer
Electric iron
Blender
EEE category
LCD television
Vacuum cleaner
Refrigerator
CRT television
Mobile phone
Electric fan
CRT display
Computer
Radio receiver
Mixer
VCR (videocassee player)
MP3/MP4 player
LCD display
Electric shaver
Hair dryer and flat iron
Sandwich toaster, grill and electric toaster
Freezer
0 10
Funconal
Fig. 3. Out-of-use EEE, by category and condition, in São Paulo, Brazil.
479
Households with out-of-use but functional or partially functional
EEE were asked to explain their rationale for storing these items:
25.5% intended to sell, repair, or donate; 24.1% kept stored EEE as
stand-by equipment; 24.0% did not know how to discard it; 16.3%
stored it for future use; 5.6% alleged sentimental value; 1.1% col-
lected EEE; and 3.4% indicated other reasons. Overall, 50.5% of
respondents intended to maintain out-of-use EEE, whereas 49.5%
may eventually discard the stored EEE, generating e-waste.
This habit of storing out-of-use EEE differs substantially from
practices in the United Kingdom (E-SCOPE study, Cooper and
Mayers, 2000), where 40% of households in the United Kingdom
but 72.6% (1.8 times) in São Paulo had out-of-use EEE. Further-
more, the proportion of out-of-use EEE relative to total EEE in
the households was below 5% in the United Kingdom but 12.2%
(2.4 times) in São Paulo. This may be associated to the availability
of space, but also with the fact that there are no alternatives for e-
waste disposal in Brazil, given that 24% of interviewees did not
know how to discard EEE. A similarity observed in both studies
was that about 50% of out-of-use EEE was functional, indicating
that the EEE lifespan as a consumer good had ended for reasons
beyond function, such as the attractiveness of newer models
(e.g., functionality, design, and fashion).
Considering storage habits is important for estimating e-waste
generation for the purpose of planning the collection and trans-
portation system. Using manufacturing, import, and sales data
with different EEEs’ lifespan can predict the production of e-
waste in countries where a recycling system is well established,
and storage or donation are less present alternatives for e-waste.
However, in countries where recycling is precarious, this method
tends to produce overestimations, since it is predicated on the
incorrect idea of immediate substitution, where the consumer buys
a new item and discards the old one.
Another implication of this storage habit is the repressed
demand to be expected in the implementation of reverse logistics
systems. The initial demand would be high as people finally get rid
of their items, after which demand will decrease. Therefore, such a
system must be dimensioned for this transitory initial impact of
stock release. In the long term, e-waste generation would be
expected to reach a constant flow.
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Percentage of total out-of-use EEE
Parally funconal Damaged
480 A.C. Rodrigues et al. / Waste Management 102 (2020) 474–485

3.4. Acquisition/replacement behavior
As consumers, the householders showed a preference for pur-
chasing EEE in stores and hypermarkets: 51.6% of mobile phones
and 94.2% of mixers had been purchased in such establishments.
Large proportions (>56.8%) of IT equipment had also been acquired
at specialized stores: also LCD televisions and displays, MP3/MP4
players, notebooks and printers were mainly purchased at these
stores. These findings indicate that stores and hypermarkets could
be used as important partners for implementing reverse logistics
as points of e-waste collection for general EEE categories, whereas
specialized stores may be used to collect IT equipment.
Internet purchases (traditional stores and purchase/sale com-
munities) were less common, and occurred mainly for LCD televi-
sions (10.6%), radio receivers (10.0%), and notebooks (9.2%).
However, internet purchases have shown a remarkable increase
over time (Lunardi, 2018). Virtual stores represent a new challenge
for reverse logistics due to the lack of physical collection sites. On
the other hand, internet networks or Apps may be used to create
systems for programmed collection of e-waste directly from the
consumers.
Second-hand purchases represented only small proportions of
total purchases within all EEE categories, evidencing the prefer-
ence for acquiring new items: notebooks (1.5%), stereo systems
(1.1%), refrigerators (0.3%), washing machines (0.9%), electric irons
(1.2%) and blenders (0.6%) are the only second-hand acquired cat-
egories. Furthermore, EEE not used till the end of its lifespan gen-
erates e-waste previously than expected. These findings were not
expected in a megacity within a developing country, where 72.9%
of families earned up to 5 MW, with an average of 3.4 persons/-
household, suggesting a concerning level of consumerism.
To further study this trend, the reasons for the latest acquisition
for each EEE category were investigated. For most items (greater
than50%), the reason was that this was the first purchase. Mean-
while, the need to replace old, broken, or malfunctioning EEE
was predominant for refrigerators, electric irons, blenders, and
washing machines (Fig. 4). Moreover, large proportions of CRT tele-
visions, electric fans, mobile phones, MP3/MP4 players, notebooks,
and hair dryers/flat irons were acquired because of the need for
additional EEE. CRT televisions and electric fans are usually
installed in different rooms of the house (e.g., bedroom, living-
room, and kitchen), while the other items are for personal use.
The alternative explanation that they had received second-hand
equipment was not common for most categories, except for vac-
uum cleaners, radio receivers, CRT displays, and freezers (greater
than10%), indicating that these items have the potential for reuse.
The percentages of the alternative explanation that an item was
received as a present (mostly applicable to smaller and cheaper
items commonly given as wedding gifts) was slightly more com-
mon than having received an item second-hand, but varied from
null (printers) to 20% (sandwich toasters, grills, and electric
toasters).
When the respondents were asked about intention of buying
second-hand equipment, 78.6% rejected this option for all EEE cat-
egories, although there was potential interest in used notebooks
(21.4%), CRT displays (21.3%), radio receivers (20.3%), and comput-
ers (18.4%). The main reasons for not buying used equipment were
as follows: new EEE is better, cheaper, and guaranteed (51.9%), and
mistrust of the durability of used EEE (28.3%). In developed coun-
tries, rejection of second-hand equipment may be even higher. For
example, a survey in Spain (Pérez-Belis et al., 2017) indicated that
only 0.75% of respondents had bought second-hand small house-
hold EEE.
3.5. Repair behavior
Interviewees were asked how often they repaired damaged EEE:
50.6% (95% CI: 45.8–55.9) declared always; 30.6% (95% CI: 26.1–
35.4) declared sometimes; and 18.5% (95% CI: 14.8–22.7) declared
hardly ever or never. The reasons for not repairing EEE included the
high cost of repair (65.0%), followed by mistrust of repair efficacy
(14.3%), technical impossibility for repairing (10.9%), mostly
because of difficulty in finding replacement pieces, the perception
that new pieces of equipment are better (7.0%), and other (2.8%).
This behavior diverged from the E-SCOPE study (Cooper and
Mayers, 2000), in which 38% of householders in the United King-

LCD television
VCR (videocassee player)
Freezer
Notebook
Electric drill
Electric shaver
Vacuum cleaner
Printer
LCD display
CRT display
EEE category

DVD player
Computer
Microwave oven
Sandwich toaster, grill and electric toaster
Mixer
MP3/MP4 player
Washing machine
Stereo system
Electric fan
Hair dryer and flat iron
Radio receiver
Blender
Refrigerator
Electric iron
Mobile phone
CRT television
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Percentage of acquired EEE

First purchase Need for addional equipment

Replacing broken/malfunconing equipment Replacing old equipment
Given as a present (new equipment) Given as a second hand equipment
Others

Fig. 4. Reasons for the most recent acquisition, by EEE category, in São Paulo, Brazil.
 A.C. Rodrigues et al. / Waste Management 102 (2020) 474–485
dom rarely or never had their products repaired, mainly because of
the cost of repairs (45%) and a low anticipated residual product life
(13%). Furthermore, in Spain, only 9.56% of respondents had
repaired broken small household EEE (Pérez-Belis et al., 2017).
Socioeconomic and cultural factors could explain this contrast
among countries. Interestingly, in an apparent contradiction,
respondents in São Paulo were unwilling to buy second-hand EEE
(95.3%) but were willing to try to repair their damaged EEE (81.2%).
3.6. Discarded EEE (e-waste)
A total of 2,332 EEE items (95% CI: 2,124–2,554) had been dis-
carded (i.e., turned into e-waste) by 368 households (93%) in the
5 years preceding the survey. The average and median for the total
households were, respectively, 5.9 items/household and 5.0
items/household (minimum: 1; maximum: 37) (Table 2), while
the yearly disposal averages were 466 items/year and 1.2 items/-
household/year.
Mobile phones were the most commonly discarded EEE, repre-
senting 15.8% of the total discarded appliances with an average of
73.6 disposed items/year, followed by electric irons, CRT televi-
sions, refrigerators, and blenders. Besides the 26 EEE categories
identified in the cards, 32 households (8.0%) had discarded items
from an additional 16 categories (i.e., videogames, digital cameras,
fruit juicers, mobile chargers, clothes dryers, electronic toys, tools,
remote controls, electric showers, electric ovens, cordless phones,
exhaust fans, inhalers, electric can openers, water coolers, and
electric pans). However, not only the number of discarded units,
but also the number of households that discard EEE is a determi-
nant in designing reverse logistic systems for planning the collec-
tion and transportation system. Electric irons had been discarded
by 188 households (51.1%) and mobiles phones by 174 (47.3%).
In turn, LCD image devices, which are newer technologies in Brazil,
had scarcely been discarded (11 households, 3.0%), similar to note-
books, probably because of their high value. Small appliances had
also been discarded by few households, although this may have
been caused by poor respondent recall (i.e., a sub-notification in
perception surveys).
EEE comprises goods with intrinsic value; consequently, people
may be more reluctant to discard of end-of-life EEE compared to
other household residues (e.g., food scraps, packages, hygiene waste,
garden waste, etc.) that are immediately perceived as waste. Since
LCD television
CRT display
Freezer
Sandwich toaster, grill and electric toaster
Notebook
Stereo system
Refrigerator
Computer
LCD display
EEE category
Microwave oven
CRT television
Printer
VCR (videocassee player)
DVD player
Washing machine
Mixer
Vacuum cleaner
Radio receiver
Mobile phone
Blender
Electric fan
Hair dryer and flat iron
Electric drill
MP3/MP4 player
Electric iron
Electric shaver
0 10
Purpose of reuse
Fig. 5. Destination of discarded EEE (i.e., e-waste) in the 5 years preceding the survey, by category, in São Paulo, Brazil.
481
no reverse logistic system has been implemented in Brazil, different
routes may be considered as destinations when EEE is perceived as
e-waste. Our research considered eight destination routes for end-
of-life EEE: (i) donation; (ii) selling for reuse; (iii) forwarding to recy-
cling; (iv) selling as scrap; (v) forwarding for disassembling and
reuse of parts; (vi) exchanging for a discount when buying new
EEE; (vii) disposal as municipal waste; and (viii) others.
The data were aggregated into four categories (Fig. 5) to identify
the destination routes: destination with the purpose of reuse, i.e.,
donation and selling for reuse (alternatives i and ii); destination
with the purpose of recycling, i.e., forwarding for recycling or for
disassembling and reuse of parts, selling as scrap, or exchanging
for a discount when buying new EEE (alternatives iii, iv, v, and
vi); destination to municipal waste (alternative vii); and others.
The destination with the purpose of reuse totaled 59.5% (95% CI:
57.4–61.5), including 51.4% forwarded to donation and 8.1% sold
for reuse, whereas the destination with the purpose of recycling
totaled 20.4% (95% CI:18.8–22.1). Disposal as municipal waste
accounted for 16.0% of the total (95% CI: 14.5–17.6), which may
be considered a major destination, given that roughly 1 EEE item
per household in the 5 years preceding the study had been dis-
posed of. Purpose of reuse (mostly via donations) was also an
important route, representing a social feature in Brazil, where peo-
ple willingly accept second-hand EEE received as a donation (with-
out cost), but there is little disposition to purchasing such
equipment. In terms of e-waste management, it is important to
emphasize that donation represents a lifespan extension and
reduces the generation of e-waste.
Franco and Lange (2011) surveyed 90 private users (non-
random sample) using a questionnaire in Belo Horizonte, Brazil,
to identify behavior regarding the replacement time and the desti-
nation of mobile phones, CRT televisions, personal computers, and
refrigerators. The most frequent destination was donation, with
proportions of 34%, 44%, 36%, and 48%, respectively. Storage was
most common for CRT televisions (24%) and mobile phones
(23%). The replacement of refrigerators and CRT televisions
occurred mostly up to 15 years after acquisition. Despite the
methodological differences between our research and that of
Franco and Lange (2011), it is worth highlighting that the results
for donation were similar for mobile phones (34%) and refrigera-
tors (48%), indicating that these EEE categories are perceived as
goods having a residual value for reuse.
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Percentage of discarded EEE (WEEE)
Purpose of recycling Ordinary waste Others
482 A.C. Rodrigues et al. / Waste Management 102 (2020) 474–485

The destination varied widely according to the EEE category
(Fig. 5). The highest percentages of disposal as municipal waste
were observed for small items (average weight below 4 kg), such
as electric shavers, electric irons, blenders, hair dryers/flat irons,
MP3/MP4 players, electric drills, electric fans, and radio receivers.
Conversely, the EEE categories most frequently forwarded for reuse
were CRT and LCD displays, notebooks, computers, LCD and CRT
televisions, refrigerators, freezers, stereo systems, and sandwich
toasters/grills/electric toasters.
Within domestic flow, computers were mostly discarded with
the intention of reuse (73%) and recycling (22%), and only 3% were
discarded as municipal waste. For printers, these values were 64%,
27%, and 9%, respectively (Fig. 5). This perception of intrinsic value
of IT EEE seems to differ drastically from institutional users. Moura
et al. (2017) conducted a survey in the municipality of Blumenau,
Brazil, and observed that only 27% of institutional users in 2010
and 15% in 2015 considered IT EEE (e.g., CPUs, computer monitors,
keyboards, mice, printers, cellular phones, and landline tele-
phones) as valuable waste. Furthermore, the quantification of EEE
discarded as municipal waste (Table 2) showed that small items
totaled 303 units (82.8%), indicating that size is also a factor that
influences destination (Fig. 5).
Over half of the discarded items were reported to be in working
order (50.7%), whereas 12.5% were partially functional, 18.7% were
damaged and in need of repair, and 18.1% were damaged beyond
repair (Fig. 6). The proportion of operative discarded EEE was over
60% for some IT EEE (e.g., personal computers, CRT and LCD dis-
plays, notebooks, and mobile phones) and kitchen appliances
(e.g., freezers, microwave ovens, and refrigerators). When consid-
ering all IT EEE (including stereo systems, CRT and LCD televisions,
videocassette players, and MP3/MP4 players), probably due to
technological obsolescence, more than 50% of the discarded items
were still functional. Functional refrigerators (60.7%) and freezers
(85.7%) were probably discarded in response to public energy-
saving policies. In addition, a large proportion of disposed items
(31.2%) could be considered reparable (partially functional or dam-
aged and in need of repair).
By contrast, small non-IT EEE was most commonly discarded
(59–78%) when no longer functional (including partially func-
tional, damaged and in need of repair, and damaged and irrepara-
ble), and only 22–41% was discarded while still functional.
3.7. Study implications
During the interviews, the interest of the respondents was evi-
dent, possibly because of the contemporality of the topic and rele-
vance to their daily lives. Furthermore, the actions taken to
institutionalize the survey and identify it as a study from the
University of Sao Paulo clearly legitimized the investigation and
helped promote reluctant interviewees to cooperate. This was
essential for the statistical assurance of the representative sample
with no reposition.
The use of cards with pictures of each EEE category was effec-
tive in stimulating the respondents’ memory; therefore, we recom-
mend this practice for similar studies, particularly those including
quantitative questions regarding a large number of categories.
Among the domestic EEE flow trends observed in this study was
the remarkable behavior of storing EEE in São Paulo; 72.6% of
households stored out-of-use EEE, representing 12.2% of the total
number of items in the households. This finding indicates the
potential for e-waste generation and implies that initial demand
may be high when reverse logistics systems begin to operate, since
half of the respondents intend to discard their stored EEE.
As another observation with potential policy implications, most
(51.8%) stored EEE was in perfect functioning condition, and was
no longer used for other reasons, from obsolescence in the case
of IT EEE to replacement incentives by government policies in
the case of refrigerators. The behavior of storing operative EEE,
which could be inserted into the circular economy (i.e., destined
for people in need or recycling) instead of occupying space in
households, could be changed with the implementation of recy-
cling policies, reverse logistic systems, environmental education,
and incentives for social participation.

LCD display
Freezer
LCD television
Computer
CRT display
Stereo system
Notebook
Mobile phone
Microwave oven
EEE category

Refrigerator
CRT television
VCR (videocassee player)
Printer
MP3/MP4 player
Sandwich toaster, grill and electric toaster
DVD player
Washing machine
Mixer
Vacuum cleaner
Radio receiver
Electric fan
Electric shaver
Blender
Electric drill
Hair dryer and flat iron
Electric iron
0 20 40 60 80 100

Percentage of discarded EEE (e-waste)

Funconal Parally funconal Damaged in need of repair Damaged beyond repair

Fig. 6. Functional condition of discarded EEE (e-waste), by category, in São Paulo, Brazil.
 A.C. Rodrigues et al. / Waste Management 102 (2020) 474–485
Smaller and cheaper EEE is more often replaced, and constitutes
the majority of stored EEE. In this case, a reverse logistics system
could offer regular selective e-waste collection or volunteer deliv-
ery points, given the reduced size and weight of these items. At the
other extreme, large domestic appliances (e.g., washing machines,
refrigerators, and freezers) corresponded to only 6.0% of the stored
EEE and remained in use longer. Refrigerators and freezers contain
hazardous components (e.g., oil and/or freon gas); therefore, they
require decontamination before being recycled as secondary raw
material within a reverse logistics framework. Such large, heavy,
and less frequently replaced items requiring decontamination
could be subjected to specific and scheduled e-waste collection,
which could be orchestrated using electronic media (e.g., apps,
websites, etc.). Reverse logistics systems must also consider a large
number of CRT televisions, which contain hazardous substances,
that are still in use and will be discarded in the next years.
Use of IT EEE is still increasing in São Paulo, and these items
tend to be replaced very rapidly (APETI, 2018); therefore, growing
annual generation of e-waste from this equipment is expected. IT
equipment is composed of recoverable pieces that can be recycled;
however, this EEE also contains hazardous components and cannot
be discarded with regular e-waste collection, despite the small size
and prevalence of these items. For example, the printed circuit
board in computers contains many valuable metals, but the moni-
tor contains hazardous materials that need treatment, such as
brominated flame retardants, PVC plastic and heavy metals
(Huang et al., 2009).
Therefore, after EEE collection, we propose that initially two
distinct flows should be implemented for reverse logistics: non-
hazardous and hazardous. Non-hazardous flow goes directly to
recycling. Hazardous flow is first directed to treatment: division
in non-hazardous and hazardous parts, and decontamination of
the latter when there is available technology. Afterwards, non-
hazardous and decontaminated parts go to recycling, and still con-
taminated parts are sent to environmentally adequate final
disposal.
Other approach to establish flows for reverse logistics is the
presence of valuable components (i.e. industrial metals) suscepti-
ble to be recovered. This paper focused on environmental health
aspects, but the next step of this research aims at enlarging the
scope and improving the materials flows, considering the concept
of urban mining (Mesinas Romero et al., 2017; Reyes-Valderrama
et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2019b).
Differing from other countries, where the producers are respon-
sible for e-waste management (Extended Producer Responsibility),
the responsibility for e-waste management in Brazil is shared by all
stakeholders (producers, distributors, consumers, and municipali-
ties), according to the Brazilian federal law that instituted the
national politics for solid waste. We think that this model is com-
plex and has brought difficulties in clearly delimiting the assign-
ment of each component of management to each stakeholder.
Typically, the legal responsibility for collection, transportation,
storage, treatment, recycling, and/or disposal ultimately determine
the involved costs for each stakeholder. When there is doubt about
responsibility, each part may neglect obligations instead of sharing
management.
Independent of the model of post-consumer responsibility to be
implemented, selective e-waste collection should be specific, and
separated from the selective collection of other recyclable munici-
pal solid waste, especially because of the health and safety risks
associated with handling of hazardous components. Among the
categories considered in this study, EEE was predominantly
acquired at department stores and hypermarkets, or at specialized
IT stores. Therefore, such commercial establishments could be used
483
as e-waste receiving points. The acquisition of second-hand equip-
ment was uncommon for all EEE categories, indicating that reuse
(as an alternative to extend the EEE lifespan) is not a viable route.
Meanwhile, donation is the principal route for discarded EEE. This
apparent contradiction should be considered in the present Brazil-
ian socioeconomic and cultural context: there is acceptance for
second-hand products when there is no money involved (charac-
teristic of donation), but paying for used goods is not acceptable.
Finally, selling used products is uncommon. These patterns would
be an interesting topic for further research with the aim of promot-
ing more sustainable consumer behavior in Brazil.
4. Conclusions
Understanding how people buy, use, store, donate, and discard
EEE, and what they value, is a determinant for the success of public
policies related to e-waste management. Therefore, we collected
primary data related characteristics, behaviors, and quantities of
EEE in São Paulo, Brazil, using a questionnaire survey to clarify
the domestic flow of e-waste. This study revealed an average of
21 items/household, with a per capita average of in-use EEE of
5.3. Interestingly, residents commonly tried to fix damaged EEE;
50.6% of respondents always and 30.6% sometimes tried to have
their damaged EEE repaired. Although an average of 2.5 items/-
household were stored out-of-use, the average of discarded EEE
(e-waste) was only 1.2 items/household, possibly related to the
lack of specific legislation, collection systems, and accessible points
for delivery/discharge. Discarding for donation predominated com-
pared to the other destination routes (e.g., recycling and disposal as
municipal waste). Among EEE forwarded as municipal waste, small
items were particularly common.
Overall, the findings of this study, which provide clear trends
related to the domestic flow of EEE, support the use of a household
survey for obtaining primary data from a statistically representa-
tive of the target community to verify consumer behavior toward
EEE. The future direction for this study comprises investigating
two additional aspects of the survey that were not explored in this
paper: destination of EEE that had been disposed within the
5 years preceding the survey, behavior related to the segregation
and disposal of e-waste, and potential participation in a selective
collection program. Furthermore, we expect the findings of this
study to support decision-making for public policies related to e-
waste management in Brazil, but also in other countries where
reverse logistics systems are in the initial phase of implementation.
Funding
This work was supported by the State of São Paulo Research
Foundation [FAPESP 2008/05089-1], Brazil; the National Coordina-
tion for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel [CAPES
88882.315481/2013-01], Brazil; and the National Council of Scien-
tific and Technologic Development [CNPq 309260/2011-6 and
312375/2013-1], Brazil.
Declarations of Competing Interest
None.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Prof. Dr. Maria Regina Alves Cardoso (School
of Public Health, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil) for her help in the
statistical analysis.
484 A.C. Rodrigues et al. / Waste Management 102 (2020) 474–485
Appendix A. Supplementary material
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2019.10.052.
References
Abbondanza, M., Souza, R.G., 2019. Estimating the generation of household e-waste
in municipalities using primary data from surveys: a case study of Sao Jose dos
Campos, Brazil. Waste Manage. 85, 374–384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
wasman.2018.12.040.
APETI, 2018. Associação de Profissionais e Empresas de Tecnologia da Informação
(APETI), 2018. 2018 apresenta crescimento considerável para o setor de TI.
https://apeti.org.br/noticias/2018-apresenta-crescimento-consideravel-para-o-
setor-de-ti (accessed 12 March 2019).
Araújo, M.G., Magrini, A., Mahler, C.F., Bilitewski, B., 2012. A model for estimation of
potential generation of waste electrical and electronic equipment in Brazil.
Waste Manage. 32, 335–342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2011.09.020.
Blake, V., Farrelly, T., Hannon, J., 2019. Is voluntary product stewardship for e-waste
working in New Zealand? a Whangarei case study. Sustainability 11, 3063.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113063.
BRASIL, 2005. [Brazilian Federal Law] Decreto No 5542, de 20 de setembro de 2005.
Institui o Projeto Cidadão Conectado - Computador para Todos, no âmbito do
Programa de Inclusão Digital, e dá outras providências. http://
www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2004-2006/2005/decreto/D5542.htm
(accessed 10 March 2019).
BRASIL, 2010. [Brazilian Federal Law] Lei 12.305, de 2 de agosto de 2010. Institui a
Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos. http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_
Ato2007-2010/2010/Lei/L12305.htm (accessed 10 March 2019).
BRASIL, 2012. [Brazilian Public Policy] PAC - Programa de Aceleração do
Crescimento. Caixa lança cartão para aquisição de móveis e linha branca.
28.09.2012. http://www.pac.gov.br/noticia/3af2b897 (accessed 10 March
2019).
Chen, Y., Li, S.T., Tan, Q., Li, J.H., Miao, Y.P., 2019. Study on WEEE collection and
recycling scheme in typical Asia-Pacific countries. Environ. Eng. Manag. J. 18 (7),
1487–1498.
Cooper, T., Mayers, K., 2000. Prospects for household appliances. Urban Mines
Limited, Halifax. http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/6671/1/201121_7265%
20Cooper%20Publisher%20rescanned.pdf (accessed 10 March 2019).
Cooper, T., 2004. Inadequate life? Evidence of consumer attitudes to product
obsolescence. J. Consum. Policy 27 (4), 421–449. https://doi.org/10.1007/
s10603-004-2284-6.
EEA, 2003. European Environment Agency (EEA), 2003. Waste from Electric and
Electronic Equipment (WEEE): quantities, dangerous substances and treatment
methods. http://scp.eionet.europa.eu/publications/wp2003_1/wp/WEEE_2003
(accessed on 01. 10. 2018).
EU, 2012. European Union (EU), 2012. Directive 2012/19/EU of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on waste electrical and electronic
equipment (WEEE). Official J. Eur. Union, L 197, 38–71 (accessed on 01. 10.
2018) https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%
3A32012L0019.
FEAM, 2009. Fundação Estadual do Meio Ambiente (FEAM), 2009. Diagnóstico da
Geração de Resíduos Eletrônicos no Estado de Minas Gerais. Belo Horizonte.
http://www2.mma.gov.br/port/conama/processos/4E1B1104/DiagGer_REE_
MG_FEAM_EMPA.pdf (accessed on 01. 10. 2018).
Franco, R.G.F., 2008. Protocolo de referência para gestão de resíduos de
equipamentos elétricos e eletrônicos domésticos para o município de Belo
Horizonte. M.Sc. Thesis, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Franco, R.G.F., Lange, L.C., 2011. Estimativa do fluxo dos resíduos de equipamentos
elétricos e eletrônicos no município de Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil. Eng.
Sanit. Ambient. 16 (1), 73–82. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-
41522011000100011.
Globo, 2011. Jornal Nacional: Programa para reduzir consumo de energia troca
geladeiras velhas por novas, 29.12.2011. http://g1.globo.com/jornal-nacional/
noticia/2011/12/programa-para-reduzir-consumo-de-energia-troca-
geladeiras-velhas-por-novas.html (accessed 10 March 2019).
Gomes, M.I., Barbosa-Povoa, A.P., Novais, A.Q., 2011. Modelling a recovery network
for WEEE: a case study in Portugal. Waste Manage. 31 (7), 1645–1660. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2011.02.023.
Huang, K., Guo, J., Xu, Z., 2009. Recycling of waste printed circuit boards: a review of
current technologies and treatment status in China. J. Hazard. Mater. 164, 399–
408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2008.08.051.
IBGE, 2010. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), 2010. Primeiros
resultados do Censo 2010. http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/
populacao/censo2010/tabelas_pdf/total_domicilios_sao_paulo.pdf (accessed on
01. 10. 2018).
Johnson, M., Fitzpatrick, C., Wagner, M., Huisman, J., 2018. Modelling the levels of
historic waste electrical and electronic equipment in Ireland. Resour. Conserv.
Recycl. 131, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.11.029.
Kumar, A., 2019. Exploring young adults’ e-waste recycling behavior using an
extended theory of planned behavior model: a cross-cultural study. Resour.
Conserv. Recycl. 141, 378–389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
resconrec.2018.10.013.
Lunardi, G., 2018. 12 dados que comprovam o crescimento do e-commerce no
Brasil. E-Commerce Brasil – Excelência em e-commerce, 12.06.2018. https://
www.ecommercebrasil.com.br/artigos/12-dados-que-comprovam-o-
crescimento-do-e-commerce-no-brasil/ (accessed 10 March 2019).
Matthews, H.S., McMichael, F.C., Hendrickson, C.T., Hart, D.J., 2014. Disposition and
End-of-life Options for Personal Computers. Technical Report. https://www.
researchgate.net/publication/239514396_Disposition_and_End-of-Life_
Options_for_Personal_Computers (accessed 10 March 2019).
Milovantseva, N., Saphores, J.D., 2013. Time bomb or hidden treasure?
Characteristics of junk TVs and of the US households who store them. Waste
Manage. 33 (3), 519–529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2012.07.020.
Moura, J.M.B.M., Pinheiro, I.G., Lischeski, D., Valle, J.A.B., 2017. Relation of Brazilian
institutional users and technical assistances with electronics and their waste:
What has changed?. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 127, 68–75. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.08.022.
Nowakowski, P., 2019. Investigating the reasons for storage of WEEE by residents - a
potential for removal from households. Waste Manage. 87, 192–203. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2019.02.008.
Oguchi, M., Kameya, T., Yagi, S., Urano, K., 2008. Product flow analysis of various
consumer durables in Japan. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 52 (3), 463–480. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2007.06.001.
OJ L, 2012. Official Journal of the European Union (OJ) Legislations Series (L), 2012.
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2012/19/oj (accessed 10 March 2019).
Ono, C., Vasques, L.F.P., Freitas Junior, S.A., Maeda, T.S., 2010. Diagnóstico do
mercado de resíduos elétricos e eletrônicos no município de São Paulo.
Undergraduate dissertation, 75 p., School of Engineering, University of São
Paulo, Brazil.
Parajuly, K., Habib, K., Liu, G., 2016. Waste electrical and electronic equipment
(WEEE) in Denmark: flows, quantities and management. Resour. Conserv.
Recycl. 123, 85–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2016.08.004.
Park, J., Ahn, C., Lee, K., Choi, W., Song, H.T., Choi, S.O., Han, S.W., 2019. Analysis on
public perception, user-satisfaction, and publicity for WEEE collecting system in
South Korea: a case study for Door-to-Door Service. Resour. Conserv. Recycl.
144, 90–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.01.018.
Peralta, G.L., Fontanos, P.M., 2006. E-Waste issues and measures in the Philippines.
J. Mater. Cycles Waste Mang. 8 (1), 34–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-005-
0142-5.
Pérez-Belis, V., Braulio-Gonzalo, M., Juan, P., Bovea, M.D., 2017. Consumer attitude
towards the repair and the second-hand purchase of small household electrical
and electronic equipment. A Spanish case study. J. Clean. Prod. 158, 261–275.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.04.143.
Ramzan, S., Liu, C.G., Munir, H., Xu, Y., 2019. Assessing young consumers’ awareness
and participation in sustainable e-waste management practices: a survey study
in Northwest China. Environ. Sci. Pollut. R. 26 (19), 20003–20013. https://doi.
org/10.1007/s11356-019-05310-y.
Ravindra, K., Mor, S., 2019. E-waste generation and management practices in
Chandigarh, India and economic evaluation for sustainable recycling. J. Clean.
Prod. 221, 286–294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.02.158.
Reyes-Valderrama, M., Salinas-Rodríguez, E., Montiel-Hernández, J., Rivera-Landero,
I., Cerecedo-Sáenz, E., Hernándezvila, J., Arenas-Flores, A., 2017. Urban mining
and electrochemistry: cyclic voltammetry study of acidic solutions from
electronic wastes (printed circuit boards) for recovery of Cu, Zn, and Ni.
Metals 7 (2), 55. https://doi.org/10.3390/met7020055.
Rodrigues, A.C., 2007. Environmental and social impacts of Electrical and Electronic
Waste: survey on the postconsumer chain in Brazil. M.Sc. Thesis, Piracicaba
Methodist University, Brazil.
Rodrigues, A.C., Günther, W.M.R., Boscov, M.E.G., 2015. Estimativa da geração de
resíduos de equipamentos elétricos e eletrônicos de origem domiciliar:
proposição de método e aplicação ao município de São Paulo, São Paulo,
Brasil. Eng. Sanit. Ambient. 20 (3), 437–447. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-
41522015020000133701.
Mesinas Romero, M.A., Landero, I.R., Valderrama, M.I.R., Rodríguez, E.S., Ávila, J.H.,
Sáenz, E.C., Beas, E.G.P., 2017. Preliminary study of the effect of stirring rate,
temperature and oxygen pressure on the leach rate of copper powder,
generated by grinding of printed circuit boards of computer. In:
Characterization of Minerals, Metals, and Materials 2017. Springer, pp. 699–
707. ISBN 978-3-319-51382-9.
Ruiz, R., 2018. Esos electrodomésticos que no reciclamos por el ‘‘efecto tesoro”. El
Asombrario & Co., Ventana Verde, 27.09.2018. https://
elasombrario.com/electrodomesticos-reciclamos-efecto-tesoro/ (accessed 10
March 2019).
Sajid, M., Syed, J.H., Iqbal, M., Abbas, Z., Hussain, I., Baig, M.A., 2019. Assessing the
generation, recycling and disposal practices of electronic/electrical-waste (E-
waste) from major cities in Pakistan. Waste Manage. 84, 394–401. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.wasman.2018.11.026.
Saphores, J.-D., Nixon, H., Ogunseitan, O.A., Shapiro, A.A., 2009. How much e-waste
is there in US basements and attics? Results from a national survey. J. Environ.
Manag. 90 (11), 3322–3331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.05.008.
UAM, 2011. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), 2011. Máster en Géstion y
Tratamiento de Residuos - Módulo 1 – Géstion y Tratamiento de Residuos
Sólidos [oral information].
Wang, B., Ren, C., Dong, X.Y., Zhang, B., Wang, Z.H., 2019. Determinants shaping
willingness towards on-line recycling behaviour: an empirical study of
household e-waste recycling in China. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 143, 218–225.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.01.005..
 A.C. Rodrigues et al. / Waste Management 102 (2020) 474–485 485

Zhang, B., Du, Z., Wang, B., Wang, Z.H., 2019a. Motivation and challenges for e- Zhang, L., Qu, J., Sheng, H., Yang, J.M., Wu, H.J., Yuan, Z.W., 2019b. Urban mining
commerce in e-waste recycling under ‘‘Big data” context: a perspective from potentials of university: in-use and hibernating stocks of personal electronics
household willingness in China. Technol. Forecast. Soc. 144, 436–444. https:// and students’ disposal behaviors. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 143, 210–217.
doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.03.001. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.01.007.