Electronic Waste Generation by Selected Students of a University in Bangladesh: A Case Study

Abstract

The creation of electronic waste (e-waste) has increased as a result of advances in recent tools and digital technologies. Consequently, there is a need to forecast the amount of e-waste generated over a specific period of time in order for society to be able handle this e-waste environmentally safely. This study focused on forecasting the generation of e-waste by a specific number of students in a university in Bangladesh––Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), Sylhet––in order to achieve this goal. The students were chosen from several departments. Estimates of the e-waste generated by the students from electronic items, such as mobile phones, laptops, desktops, pen drives, headphones, and computer components such as keyboards, motherboards, and mouses are described in this paper. The volume of the e-waste was estimated using consumption-and-use and waste-stream approaches. The total amount of electronic waste generated at SUST in 2016 was 2,494.38 kg, estimated using the linear-trend forecasting approach. Our forecasting also revealed that the e-waste generated will gradually increase, reaching 4,070.62 kg in 2024, more than double the amount generated in 2016. The basic ideas behind, and terminology of, e-waste management, as they relate to environmental sustainability, are also discussed.