THE KNOWLEDGE LEVELS AND OPINIONS OF ACADEMICS FROM KARADENIZ TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY FACULTIES REGARDING ELECTRONIC WASTES AND THEIR EFFECTS ON HUMAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Year 2022, Volume: 7 Issue: 3, 422 - 435, 20.10.2022

Nalan Özen , Murat Topbaş , Medine Gözde Üstündağ , Nazım Ercüment Beyhun , Sevil Turhan

https://doi.org/10.35232/estudamhsd.1039165

Abstract

The useful life of electrical and electronic devices is rapidly ending, there is a rapid transition to new products, and a new type of waste
known as electronic waste (e-waste) emerges. The aim of this study was to examine the knowledge and opinions of academics
concerning e-waste regulations in Turkey and the effects of e-waste on human and environmental health. This study involved 267
academics working at Karadeniz Technical University. An online questionnaire consisting of 50 questions was used for data collection.
The Mann Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis, Pearson chi-square, Fisher's Exact test, and Spearman correlation were used for statistical
analysis. Analysis showed that 45.3% of the participants reported not paying attention to the recycling, with 90.1% of those being
unaware of the procedures involved. Only 4.9% of the participants had received education concerning e-waste. Participants who had
received such education registered significantly higher mean total knowledge scores concerning e-waste regulations and the effects of
e-waste on human and environmental health than those with no such education (p<0.001). Mean total knowledge scores were
significantly higher among participants who paid attention to the recycling (p<0.001). Few participants have received education on
e-waste, about half of them don’t pay attention to recycling and a large part of those who don’t pay attention are unaware of the relevant
procedures. The high mean of knowledge scores among participants who paid attention to e-waste and contributed to recycling reveals
the importance of policies and education programs aimed at increasing individual awareness and producing desired behaviors.
Keywords: Electronic waste, environmental health, public health, recycling.

Keywords

Electronic waste, Environmental Health, Public Health, Recycling

Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi Meslek Yüksek Okulları, Mühendislik ve Teknoloji Fakülteleri Akademisyenlerinin Elektronik Atıklar ve Bu Atıkların İnsan ve Çevre Sağlığına Etkileri Hakkındaki Bilgi Düzeyleri ve Düşünceleri

Abstract

Elektrikli ve elektronik cihazların kullanım ömürleri hızlı dolmakta, yeni ürünlere hızlı geçiş olmakta ve elektronik atık (e-atık) olarak
bilinen yeni bir atık türü ortaya çıkmaktadır. Çalışmanın amacı, akademisyenlerin ülkemizdeki e-atık düzenlemeleri ile e-atıkların insan
ve çevre sağlığına etkileri konusundaki bilgi ve düşüncelerini incelemektir. Bu çalışma Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi'nde görev yapan
akademisyenler üzerinde gerçekleştirilmiş ve çalışmaya 267 akademisyen dahil edilmiştir. Veri toplamak için 50 sorudan oluşan
çevrimiçi bir anket kullanılmıştır. İstatistiksel analiz için Mann Whitney U, Kruskall Wallis, Pearson ki-kare, Fisher's Exact Test ve
Spearman korelasyon analizi kullanılmıştır. Katılımcıların %45,3'ü e-atık geri dönüşümüne dikkat etmediğini, e-atık geri dönüşümüne
dikkat etmeyenlerin ise %90,1'i ülkemizdeki uygulamaları bilmediğini belirtmiştir. Katılımcıların sadece %4,9'u e-atık konusunda eğitim
almıştır. Eğitim alanların ülkemizdeki e-atık mevzuatı ve e-atıkların insan ve çevre sağlığına etkileri konusundaki toplam bilgi puan
ortalamaları eğitim almayanlara göre istatistiksel olarak önemli bir şekilde yüksek bulunmuştur (p<0,001). Benzer şekilde, e-atıkların
geri dönüşümüne dikkat edenlerin toplam bilgi puan ortalaması geri dönüşüm konusuna dikkat etmeyenlere göre önemli bir şekilde
yüksek bulunmuştur (p<0,001). Çok az katılımcı e-atık konusunda eğitim almış olup katılımcıların yaklaşık yarısı geri dönüşüme dikkat
etmemektedir ve geri dönüşümüne dikkat etmeyenlerin büyük bir bölümü uygulamaları bilmemektedir. E-atık konusuna önem veren ve
geri dönüşüme katkı sağlayanların bilgi puanlarının yüksek olması, bireysel farkındalığı artırmak ve istendik yönde davranışları
oluşturmak için uygulanacak politikaların ve eğitim programlarının önemini ortaya koymaktadır.
Anahtar kelimeler: Çevre sağlığı, elektronik atık, geri dönüşüm, halk sağlığı.

Keywords

Elektronik atık, Çevre sağlığı, Halk sağlığı, Geri dönüşüm

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