Completion Report
Determinations of Consumer Perceptions and Attitudes toward e-waste Reuse and Recycling in Japan,China and Thailand
Li Liang
Foreign Expert
Faculty of Public HealthThammasat University
The research project, entitled ‘Determinations of consumer perceptions and attitudes toward e-waste reuse andrecycling in Japan, China, and Thailand’, has been successfully completed. Upon the Grant being awarded, thefollowing research activities were carried out during March 2018 – February 2019; 1) Questionnaires weredeveloped in English, reviewed by experts, pre-tested in Thammasat University, revised, and finalized; 2)
Questionnaires were further translated into Thai, Japanese, and Chinese. The translated versions were also subject
to the pre-test process; 3) Local coordinators to assist in questionnaire surveys and field visits were contacted andthe travel itineraries were confirmed; 4) Questionnaire surveys and field visits were conducted in Thailand in
March 2018, in Japan in June 2018, and in China in October 2018; 5) Returned questionnaires were checked andconfirmed their validity and then data were coded, entered, and analyzed; 6) Data analyses were performed inNovember 2018; and 7) Two manuscripts have been submitted to a journal for publication in January 2019 andFebruary 2019.
The research activities conducted during the overseas trips to Japan in June 2018 and China in September 2018and October 2018 are summarized as follows; 1) Meeting with local coordinators, authorities, and officials tofacilitate the questionnaire surveys and field visits in their respective sites; 2) Conducting questionnaire surveys andinterviewing residents in the study sites; 3) Participating in local events relating to environmental protection andwaste management, particularly the ‘Zero Waste Initiative’ in Kamikatsu, Japan; and 4) Building partnerships,expanding academic networks, and exploring future collaborations in the field of waste management andenvironmental management with Osaka University and United Nations Environment Programme International
Environmental Technology Centre in Japan and Tsinghua University in China.
This research will produce three journal publications; of which, two manuscripts have been submitted to ajournal for publication. The key findings of the first manuscript, entitled ‘Determinations of consumer perceptions
and attitudes towards e-waste reuse and recycling in Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, and China: Part I - Consumer
perceptions’, are summarized as follows; 1) Respondents from China were optimistic about its environmentalconditions; 2) Respondents from Thailand were pessimistic about its environmental conditions; 3) China’svillagers with e-waste practices were optimistic about environment; 4) Japan’s villagers with e-waste practices
were better informed of metals in e-waste; and 5) Perception gaps were found in female and older-agers towards
environment and laws.
The key findings of the second manuscript, entitled ‘Determinations of consumer perceptions and attitudes
towards e-waste reuse and recycling in Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, and China: Part II - Consumer attitudes’, aresummarized as follows; 1) Respondents from Thailand were involved most in improper e-waste dumping; 2)
Respondents from Thailand had no solutions to problems of improper e-waste dumping; 3) China’s villagers with

e-waste practices had solutions to improper dumping; 4) Japan’s villagers with e-waste practices were least
involved in improper e-waste dumping; and 5) Gender, age, education and income level were correlated with fiveout of six variables.
The third manuscript, entitled ‘Determinations of consumer perceptions and attitudes towards e-waste reuse
and recycling in Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, and China: Part III – Interactions between consumer perceptions andattitudes’, is being prepared and will be submitted for journal publication in March 2019.
The proposed research objectives of this study have been achieved. The field trips and the process of conducting
the questionnaire surveys provided a very good opportunity for networking and enhancing better understanding ofwaste management systems in Japan, China, and Thailand. After the successful closure of this research project, anew proposal for the Sumitomo Foundation Grant, focusing on the air quality of the areas surrounding e-waste
incineration facility, will be submitted. The idea for this study on the air quality is to show the importance of using
incineration to disposal of e-waste while maintaining relatively clean air quality in the areas surrounding an
incineration facility.
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Publication of the Results of Research Project:
Verbal Presentation (Date, Venue, Name of Conference, Title of Presentation, Presenter, etc.)
Thesis (Name of Journal and its Date, Title and Author of Thesis, etc.)•Manuscript #1, entitled ‘Determinations of consumer perceptions and attitudes towards e-waste reuse
and recycling in Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, and China: Part I - Consumer perceptions’, has been
submitted to Waste Management for consideration of publication on January 23, 2019;•Manuscript #2, entitled ‘Determinations of consumer perceptions and attitudes towards e-waste reuse
and recycling in Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, and China: Part II - Consumer attitudes’, has been
submitted to Waste Management for consideration of publication on February 17, 2019;•Manuscript #3, entitled ‘Determinations of consumer perceptions and attitudes towards e-waste reuse
and recycling in Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, and China: Part III – Interactions between consumer
perceptions and attitudes’, is currently being prepared and will be submitted for publication in a journalin March 2019.

Book (Publisher and Date of the Book, Title and Author of the Book, etc.)
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