Study of e-Waste Management for Education e-Waste

Abstract

The study aimed to comprehend the e-Waste management for education e-Waste. The research procedure had three main steps: 1) to identify types of e-waste in academic institutions, 2) to investigate the progress of Thailand’s Information and Communication Technology Policy for 2011 – 2020 (ICT 2020 or Smart Thailand 2020) under the strategy section 7.2 for academic institutions, and 3) to study of how the e-Waste is managed and handled in academic institutions. Samples were categorized into two groups: managers and operators who are currently working in the organizations that directly responsible for managing e-Waste in institutions of higher education. Data was analyzed using Content Analysis and Percentage Analysis techniques. The results of the study reveal that 1) e-Waste in institutions of higher education is categorized into 8 types. First, e-Waste came from IT and telecommunications equipment, consumer equipment, lighting equipment and electrical and electronic tools which were found in 100% of the academic institutes surveyed. Secondly, large household appliances and medical devices were sources of e-waste found in 75% of the academic institutes studied followed by small household appliances and monitoring and control instruments which were found in 50 % of institutes surveyed; 2) the progress of ICT 2020 was to clearly indicate that not all higher education institutions were aware of the deployment of Thailand’s Information and Communication Technology Policy for 2011 – 2020 (ICT 2020 or Smart Thailand 2020) under the strategic section of 7.2 including its purposes and implementation; and 3) the e-waste management was done under the principle of ICT EcoDesign following the 4Rs principle which means Reduce, Reuse/Repeat, Recycle and Repair.