Consumer's Circular Behaviors in Relation to the Purchase, Extension of Life, and End of Life Management of Electrical and Electronic Products: A Review

Nowadays, management of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and the related waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is a growing concern around the world and clearly an open issue to tackle in order to move towards a more circular economy. The goal of this review paper is to analyze and summarize research conducted exploring behaviors connected with purchases, extension of useful life, and management of end of life of electrical and electronic equipment. The results highlight several research exploring the determinants of WEEE recycling behavior, also in relation with different practices (e.g., online recycling); on the other hand other typologies of behaviors are less analyzed in the literature (e.g., purchase of used EEE products, donation of EEE products, participation in WEEE takeback activities established by firm operating in this sector, etc.). Moreover, the results suggest that the theoretical model adopted in many studies reveals its usefulness to predict the determinist of such circular consumer's behavior in relation to the purchase, extension of life, and end of life management of electrical and electronic products; however, in many cases, additional variables are needed to fully explain the behavior.