Electronic waste (e-waste) has become the main contributor of lead to landfills in the United States. Households also store large volumes of e-waste, yet little is known about their willingness to recycle e-waste. This article starts filling this gap based on a 2004 mail survey of California households. Using multivariate models, the authors find that gender, education, convenience, and environmental beliefs but not income or political affiliation are key factors explaining the willingness to drop off e-waste at recycling centers. A comparison of an ordered probit with a semi-nonparametric extended ordered probit model of the survey responses shows that the latter better predicts less frequent answers. The results suggest targeting public education programs about recycling at teenagers or younger adults and making recycling more convenient for older adults; moreover, e-waste drop-off centers should first be created in communities that already offer curbside collection programs for conventional recyclable products.

This paper relies on a unique dataset collected during a national survey of US households to explore how different sources of information (print, television, radio, family/friends, work/school and others) influence the decision to start recycling. Although print media are influential, it is found that face-to-face communication (through family/friends or work/school) is the most effective medium to get people to start recycling. However, it is even better to provide households with recycling information from multiple sources. The respondents in this study identify concerns about storage space, time and the safety of recycling as the main obstacles to start recycling. In addition, age and ethnicity are statistically significant but not income or education. These findings should be useful for crafting information campaigns designed to boost recycling, although to be successful these campaigns need to incorporate findings from environmental psychology and knowledge of specific communities.

Concerns about rapid increases in the volume of electronic waste (e-waste) and its potential toxicity have sharpened policy makers' interest for extended producer responsibility to encourage manufacturers of consumer electronic devices (CEDs) to ‘design for the environment’. This paper examines consumer willingness to pay for ‘green’ electronics based on a 2004 mail survey of California households. Using ordered logit models, it was found that significant predictors of willingness to pay for ‘greener’ computers and cell phones include age, income, education, beliefs about the role of government for improving environmental quality, as well as environmental attitudes and behaviors, but neither gender nor political affiliation. Although most respondents are willing to pay only a 1% premium for ‘greener’ CEDs, innovation and EU directives may soon make them competitive with conventional CEDs.