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. 2021 Nov 4;16(11):e0259542.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259542. eCollection 2021.

Pro-environmental behavior and smartphone uses of on-campus engineering students in Xi'an, China

Tao Qiang  1   2 , Honghong Gao  3 , Xiaoli Ma  4
Affiliations

Pro-environmental behavior and smartphone uses of on-campus engineering students in Xi'an, China

Tao Qiang et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: The usage status, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) related to the smartphones of on-campus engineering students should be studied. Furthermore, the correlations between their smartphone profiles with energy consumption and environmental knowledge should be understood make measures improve their environmental behaviors.

Methods: Pro-environmental behavior and smartphone uses of the on-campus engineering undergraduates in Xi'an, China, were investigated with a self-designed questionnaire anonymously. The energy-saving activities they participated in and their e-waste treatment patterns were analyzed.

Results: Most of the respondents had a smartphone with large screen and high battery capacity, which also had long standby/usage time and frequent charging. Average daily power consumption of one smartphone was estimated to be 6.475 Wh. The surveyed undergraduate students changed their smartphones frequently, which produced large quantities of WEEE annually.

Conclusion: Most on-campus students treated their waste smartphones in the proper ways. However, some of them were short of environmental knowledge about their smartphones. Some measures were suggested to improve their environmental concerns. The findings will help the on-campus engineering undergraduates in China to use their smartphones rationally and to deal with their waste smartphones appropriately.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Hardware parameters of the undergraduates’ smartphones.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Usage profiles of the undergraduates’ smartphones.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Gender difference of the undergraduates with fashionable smartphones.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Undergraduates’ environmental knowledge about their smartphones.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Gender difference of the undergraduates who are short of environmental knowledge about smartphones.
Fig 6
Fig 6. College students’ treatment patterns of the waste smartphones.
Fig 7
Fig 7. Energy-saving activities for the respondent undergraduates.
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