Consumer practices regarding the purchase, use, willingness to repair, and disposal of small electric and electronic equipment

A Spanish survey on kettles

Bibliographic Data

ID19469637
AuthorsSonia Sandez (0000-0002-5038-9021, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Construction Universitat Jaume I Castellón Spain), Valeria Ibáñez‐Forés (0000-0001-9047-0097, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Construction Universitat Jaume I Castellón Spain), Victoria Pérez‐Belis (0000-0002-7545-917X, Project Management, Innovation and Sustainability Research Center (PRINS) Universitat Politècnica de València València Spain), Juan Pablo Paz (0000-0002-2197-7502, Department of Mathematics Universitat Jaume I Castellón Spain), M D Bovea (0000-0002-8261-8693, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Construction Universitat Jaume I Castellón Spain, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume27
Issue6
Pages1613-1625
Publication date2023-12-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Industrial Ecology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1088-1980 • E-ISSN: 1530-9290
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/jiec.13444
OpenAlexW4387331195
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited26

Repair is one of the main strategies to extend the lifetime of products in the circular economy framework. With the aim of identifying current consumer practices toward the purchase, use, and end of life of electric and electronic equipment (EEE), including willingness to repair, maintenance, and final disposal, a survey is designed and implemented online, taking kettles as an application case. Regarding current strategies for extending the lifespan of these items, a general lack of maintenance and low levels of reparability or reuse have been detected. Disposal patterns show that nearly half of all kettles disposed of were still functioning. Nevertheless, a future willingness to repair these items has been identified, either by users themselves or at repair centers, if the manufacturer provides the means to do so. Finally, the results reveal that when consumers purchase a kettle, the price and then the energy efficiency score are the main priorities affecting their purchasing decisions, taking priority over the reparability score. These results can help in the design of more focused and direct strategies to promote the reparability of small household appliances, encourage the authorities to regulate the new reparability score in a more efficient way, and improve the way that information is transmitted to users/consumers

Business · Economics · Environmental economics · Operations management · Purchasing · Reuse · Waste management · Willingness to pay · Engineering · Green IT and Sustainability · Recycling and Waste Management Techniques · Sustainable Supply Chain Management · Marketing

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Open DOIOpen Access