TY - JOUR
T1 - E-waste management practices through the eyes of responsible departments at Malaysian public universities
AU - Hashim, Rushanim
AU - Salleh, Nurul Azita
AU - Ibrahim, Jafni Azhan
AU - Mohd Zahari, Fadhilah
AU - Cooper, Sarah
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - Electronic and electrical waste (E-waste) has been identified as the fastest-growing waste stream in the world. In Malaysia, forecasts indicate that it will soon reach 24.5 million units of e-waste by the year 2025. Today, higher learning institutions also contribute to the rapidly growing threat of e-waste. Besides mobile phones, the usage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment at universities keeps increasing and contributes to the increased quantity of e-waste, while the handling and disposal methods of e-waste still need to be improved. The purpose of this paper is to examine the current e-waste management system as well as to investigate the critical challenges constraining e-waste management at public universities in Malaysia. By using a qualitative approach, a number of interview sessions have been conducted with the responsible departments at six established public universities in Malaysia. It has been found that currently only e-waste generated from used electric and electronic equipment (EEE) which have been declared as university assets are being managed by the responsible departments at the six universities. All six universities are using the standard process of handling their e-waste since every single process needs to comply with the requirements of the Ministry of Finance (MOF). This remains the main constraint to flexibility or improvement of the current system. The universities are also facing some challenges, among others, lack of awareness and knowledge on how to properly handle e-waste among university citizens, no clear sustainable policy at the university, lack of facilities within the university compound to support the proper practice of e-waste disposal as well as lack of education and related training provided to the campus citizens. This paper also provides some recommendations for the improvement of e-waste management towards sustainability and offers an agenda for future research.
AB - Electronic and electrical waste (E-waste) has been identified as the fastest-growing waste stream in the world. In Malaysia, forecasts indicate that it will soon reach 24.5 million units of e-waste by the year 2025. Today, higher learning institutions also contribute to the rapidly growing threat of e-waste. Besides mobile phones, the usage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment at universities keeps increasing and contributes to the increased quantity of e-waste, while the handling and disposal methods of e-waste still need to be improved. The purpose of this paper is to examine the current e-waste management system as well as to investigate the critical challenges constraining e-waste management at public universities in Malaysia. By using a qualitative approach, a number of interview sessions have been conducted with the responsible departments at six established public universities in Malaysia. It has been found that currently only e-waste generated from used electric and electronic equipment (EEE) which have been declared as university assets are being managed by the responsible departments at the six universities. All six universities are using the standard process of handling their e-waste since every single process needs to comply with the requirements of the Ministry of Finance (MOF). This remains the main constraint to flexibility or improvement of the current system. The universities are also facing some challenges, among others, lack of awareness and knowledge on how to properly handle e-waste among university citizens, no clear sustainable policy at the university, lack of facilities within the university compound to support the proper practice of e-waste disposal as well as lack of education and related training provided to the campus citizens. This paper also provides some recommendations for the improvement of e-waste management towards sustainability and offers an agenda for future research.
KW - challenges
KW - e-waste
KW - sustainability
KW - university
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85207312126&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.37934/araset.52.1.309319
DO - 10.37934/araset.52.1.309319
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85207312126
SN - 2462-1943
VL - 52
SP - 309
EP - 319
JO - Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology
JF - Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology
IS - 1
ER -