Research Paper
To Sell or Recycle Electronic Waste; Evidence from a Survey Experiment in Mumbai
Electronic waste is a growing concern in many cities, but little is known about how much people participate in certain waste streams with their previous products. The question which this research paper will be talking about is ‘What are the barriers to responsible electronic waste reuse and recycling in Mumbai?’. Matters will also be discussed such as why studying electronic waste is important, what the large environmental concerns of electronic waste consist of, and the problems that electronic waste causes in the city of Mumbai. A survey has also been conducted. Around 100 people have filled out the survey. All of the people who have filled out this survey are situated in the city of Mumbai, India. This survey asks basic questions about electronic waste such as what effect it has on us humans and on the environment. A survey experiment about an old TV was also conducted in the survey. In this experiment, the resale price of the old TV constantly decreases and the people filling out the survey decide whether they want to give/throw away the old TV, sell the TV at a particular resale price or keep the TV as backup. If they chose to give/throw away the TV or sell it at the given resale price, they would be directed to another section where they would be told that the resale value of the TV actually increased to $150 from the original resale price. The user would then be asked whether they regretted their decision of not keeping the TV. The results from the survey show that when the respondent does not keep the old TV at a lower price and when they find out that the resale value has changed $150, they tend to regret their decision more. In this survey when the initial resale value of the old TV was $10, most of the respondents did not keep it, but when they were told that the resale value of the old TV was actually $150, many of them regretted their decision of not keeping the old TV. This implies that the price determines the fate of old electronics. The higher the value, the more likely someone is willing to keep the old electronics.
Published by: Krish Advani
Author: Krish Advani
Paper ID: V10I4-1188
Paper Status: published
Published: October 14, 2024
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