Análise da percepção de populares do município de Montanhas/RN acerca do lixo eletrônico

Abstract

The planned obsolescence of electronic equipment, combined with the culture of consumerism, has played a significant role in the generation of electronic waste. This becomes a challenge for small cities due to technical and budgetary limitations, which can lead to risks to human and environmental health due to inadequate disposal. Thus, the objective was to analyze the perception of people in the municipality of Montanhas/RN regarding electronic waste. The study was previously approved by CEP-HUOL-UFRN (opinion no. 6,413,797) and carried out with the application of a questionnaire to 100 residents of Montanhas – RN between September and December 2023, over 18 years old, for free convenience and voluntary participation. The data were tabulated and analyzed on the Jamovi platform (Version 2.3) using the Chi-square and Spearman correlation statistical tools. It was observed that the majority of participants were women (60%); education up to high school (70%) and with family income up to one minimum wage (62%). Regarding the topic of electronic waste, only 13% claimed to have good knowledge and disposed of electronic waste (44%) and batteries (68%) in common waste. Regarding points for collecting this material, 75% cited their non-existence. The chi-square analysis indicated a statistical correlation between the level of knowledge about electronic waste and the variables family income (p≤0.001) and education (p≤0.001). In Spearman's correlation, a relationship was observed between the reason for disposal and the variables: knowledge about electronic waste (rho = -0.276 and p = 0.005); number of replacements (rho = 0.499 and p= 0.001) and disposal of electronic waste (rho = 0.430 and p= 0.001). As a result, there was a lack of knowledge about electronic waste, the environmental and health impacts associated with the inadequate disposal of this waste, as well as a significant lack of infrastructure for the selective collection of these materials. These results highlight the need for environmental education programs and awareness campaigns to inform the population about sustainable practices.