Survey on Disposal Behaviour and Awareness of Mobile Phones in Chinese University Students

Retired mobile phones represent the most valuable electrical and electronic equipment in the main waste stream because of such characteristics as large quantity, high reuse/recovery value and fast replacement frequency. An online survey was conducted in the university students in China to identify the disposal behaviour and awareness of mobile phones, which will promote sustainable management of retired mobile phones. The results show that about 22% of the respondents replace their mobile phones annually, while most respondents replace their phones in 2-3 years. The most common reason for mobile phones replacement is the physical broken. 64% of the respondents stockpile their most recently retired phones mainly due to lack of formal management system. The survey results on mobile phones consumers’ environmental awareness also can help improve the policy-making. Nearly 50% of the respondents believe the recycling cost of the retired phones should be shared by all the stakeholders. The incentives with cash or voucher will be the efficient take-back approach. Some suggestions for constructing efficient management system for retired mobile phones are given based on the results and discussions, in which the important effects of the monetary incentives and targeted publicity are emphasized.