A Survey on Factors Influencing Recycling Behavior for Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment in the Municipality of Volos, Greece

Abstract

The status of waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycling in a middle-sized industrialized city in Greece has been investigated, through the application of structured questionnaires to 310 citizens from the municipal units of Volos and Nea Ionia, asking for their habits and opinions on this kind of recycling. The underlying factors affecting the intention of these citizens to perform WEEE recycling were investigated, applying aspects of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Results show that there is an underperformance of WEEE recycling with 57% of the sample answering that they have never participated in WEEE recycling. A number of behavioral factors, based on TPB predictors, affect the intention of these citizens to participate in WEEE recycling schemes, namely total attitude, willingness to pay, information status regarding WEEE recycling and subjective norm. These findings may aid in improving marketing strategies for WEEE recycling of the general public. Investigation into pro-environmental incentives in Greece and in other countries with similar WEEE recycling management is urgently needed. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.