Adoption of ICT disposal and refurbishing center in public universities in Kenya

Abstract

ICT industry is growing at a very fast rate. Its economic activities has found its way into almost all the sectors such as Education, Health, Industrial, Trade and Communication sectors among others. These has led to unprecedented high rates of consumption coupled with enormous growth of ICT electronic devices such as personal computer, mobile phones, tapes, floppy disks, CDs and other devices. These devices however have a short lifespan. The rapid growth in the high rate of obsolescence of ICT devices is due to the technological advancement as devices reaches its end of life, disposal challenges arise. When devices no longer satisfy the initial user’s needs, they should not be assumed that they are in poor operational condition or has become obsolete. Their lifespans should instead be extended through reuse by other users. In most cases, these devices are thrown away as any other waste. However, these devices require proper disposal mechanisms which include recycling and refurbishing. This paper therefore looks at the need for disposal and refurbishing centers in Kenyan public universities. Survey research design was used in the study. The target total population was 385 from two public Universities and one University Constituent College. Through purposive and simple random sampling 111 respondents were selected based on Nassiuma 2000 Method. The data collection instruments were observation, interview and questionnaires. The specific analysis methods were frequencies, percentages, Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis. The findings of the study indicated that public Universities have major challenges in disposal of electronic waste and there is also lack of proper disposal mechanism. The study henceforth concludes that disposal of electronic waste is a challenge to universities. It recommends that universities need to set up a disposal and refurbishing center.