On the Hibernating Electronic Waste in Rio de Janeiro Higher Education Community: An Assessment of Population Behavior Analysis and Economic Potential

Brazil is the second largest producer of electronic waste in the Americas, with a production that grows each year and only 10% of it being treated in its own way. Additionally, given the typical chemical composition of this type of residue, it can be possible to recover valuable metals, such as copper, gold, silver, and platinum. Presently, Brazil does not have an industrial plant devoted to such extractive activity using electronic waste, with most of its treatment carried out abroad. The research hypothesis of this manuscript is that universities and their communities could develop sources of raw materials for such extraction processes and, therefore, deserve attention for the creation of collection points and partnerships. In this context, there is a need to understand this community behavior regarding the acquisition, storage, and disposal of electronic equipment, as well as information about topics related to electronic waste management and recycling. To implement such a study for the higher education community in Rio de Janeiro, a form was created covering several topics on the subject, which was disseminated among the teachers, students, employees, and family members of two main state universities. It was determined that the studied group has more than 16.96 million mobile phones in hibernation, in addition to other equipment, with an estimated stockpile value of USD 67.45 million for the studied group in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro. If extrapolated to all of Brazil, this could be as high as USD 797.50 million for the studied group. This information will be used in future projects to assess the economic potential of an industrial plant dedicated to metal recovery in Brazil. However, the present study also identified an important lack of knowledge regarding proper waste disposal and solid waste policies among this well-educated group. It became clear that without appropriate information regarding collection points and knowledge on how to deal with obsolete devices, the access to this source of raw material could be a hinderance to future extraction projects in the area.

Automated summary

Brazil is the second largest producer of electronic waste in the Americas, with only 10% being treated properly each year. The study suggests that universities and their communities could become important sources for electronic waste recycling. However, it also found a lack of knowledge regarding waste disposal and policies among well-educated individuals.