E-Waste Management at Egerton University Library, Njoro Campus, Kenya

Abstract

Electronic waste (e-waste) corrprises of discarded con"puters offioe electronic equipment, electronic entertainment devices mobile phones television sets and refrigerators They include electronics equipment that are destined for reuse, resale, salvage recycle or disposal because they are either old, have reached end-of-life cycle or have ceased to be of any value to their owners The aim of the study was to establish the state of e-waste management at Egerton University Library for the purposes of promoting conducive and safe working environment for the staff and students Sistainability helix model was adopted as the theoretical framework. Purposive sampling was used to obtain a sanple of 50 respondents from the University Library. Other respondents included the HoDs of Departments of I CT, Procurement and Environmental Science. Data was collected using questionnaires interviews and observation. S.irvey research paradigm was used Tables and texts were used to present the data. Qualitative data analysis method was used to analyze the data. The study established that generation of ewaste is inevitable and libraries and inforn'ation centres and users of electronics must find a suitable framework that ensures efficient and effective management of all resulting ewastes The study proposed sustainability helix model that explains a oorrprehensive response for dealing with ewaste The model indicates that upper management s.1pport is necewry and the adoption of a formal ewaste policy that vmul d introduce guidelines for responsible management of ewastes from all premises Keywords E-waste, E-waste Management, Egerton University Library, Kenya