Understanding preferences for EEE collection services: A choice-based conjoint analysis

Changing our economic system into a Circular Economy can reduce our dependence on primary materials. Circular Economy requires used products to be collected and supplied through reverse distribution channels. Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) is a problematic and under-collected stream. The aim of the present paper is to understand the preference of consumers for EEE collection services. Focusing on mobile phones, coffee machines and washing machines as examples, we assessed the stated preferences of Brussels' consumers using a Choice-Based Conjoint analysis. The results obtained underline the price-driven nature of consumers' preferences. Consumers also have a high reluctance for incineration but no significant preference for reusing over recycling, and even a preference for recycling in the case of mobile phones. These results also highlight the large differences among product types, especially for the type of service: consumers have a high willingness to pay for home collection of washing machines but have no preference for mobile phones. Income, household structure, professional occupation and availability of a storage room impact the preferences for several collection services' attributes. These impacts are small and do not concern preferences for recovery processes, identity of the collector, price of collection services and appointment requirements. The results of this study call for a redesign of EEE classifications and for a refinement of collection services to incorporate consumers' preferences.