E-waste recycling assessment at university campus: a strategy toward sustainability

Abstract

Electronic waste is one of the main environmental problems caused by the consumption’s dynamics. E-waste disposal is concerning all the stakeholders, from policymakers to the end users. Hence, an assessment of the overall sustainability of e-waste, considering the three pillars: environmental, economic, and social, is an important task. Higher education institutions are called to adopt sustainable development strategies in order to give a positive impact on the community. In this work, the assessment of the program of selective collection of electronic waste, called Recyclatron, implemented at Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit, in Mexico, is presented. The objective of such program is to promote a culture toward sustainability in e-waste management at university campus, as well as, be a reference for social and environmental responsibility from community. The quantity of e-waste picked up during the four times in which Recyclatron was carried out, demonstrate an exponential growth trend, matching well with the equation $y = A{\text{e}}^{{\frac{x}{t}}} + y_{\text{o}}$. A total amount of 28,836.00 kg of electronic waste has been collected since the first time of Recyclatron, avoiding that electronic waste was finally disposed in the municipal landfill. According to the trend equation, the quantity of e-waste will increase up to near 60,000 kg for the next edition of Recyclatron. Finally, the stakeholder methodology used for the logistical process of Recyclatron resulted in a high level of participation and the awareness of stakeholders which was fundamental part of the success of this work.