The influence of Critical Raw Material information on repair practices
E.E.N.J. Landais (TU Delft - Technology, Policy and Management)
Franco Donati – Mentor (Universiteit Leiden)
S.S. van Dam – Mentor (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)
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Abstract
Critical Raw Materials (CRM) in the EU are materials with a high economic impact and a high risk of supply disruptions. Firstly, an increasing number of CRM are required to conduct the Green and Digital transition. Secondly, electrical and electronic waste is an important source of CRM, and the fastest growing waste stream in the EU. Therefore, fostering circular economy and specifically repair among citizens is necessary to preserve resources and to reduce the environmental and social impacts associated with CRM production.
Repair has gained attention from citizens, and this was translated at the EU level through legislation (Right to Repair Directive). Retention of CRM through repair is a solution to further explore to ensure CRM needs are matched in the EU. However, the connection between CRM information and citizens repair habits has not yet been made.
This thesis aims to understand to what extent the strategic and political concept of Critical Raw Materials can influence repair practices of citizens, and particularly their motivation to repair. This leads to the following research question: How to communicate to citizens the relevance of Critical Raw Materials (CRM) to the repair of Electric and Electronic Equipment (EEE)?
To understand the repair habits of citizens and how to communicate Critical Raw Materials information, a survey is conducted. It identifies the factors influencing repair habits, identifies to what extent CRM information influences repair habits, and how information around CRM should be communicated to citizens (users of EEE) considering different types of information (environmental information, criticality and dependence information, social/ethical information), in the context of repair for EEE.
A significant positive association was found between repair habits and higher perceived skills, possessing tools, self-efficacy and a significant negative association with concerns about injuries, which indicates that these factors predict repair habits. The CRM concept was known by 71% of the respondents, who related it to batteries and smartphones and 63% considered themselves more likely to repair if they knew about the CRM contained in the product. Framing CRM information on environmental issues is significantly positively associated, and predicts willingness to repair better compared to the other scenarios.
This thesis contributes to circular economy and IE research by studying the connection between the notion of Critical Raw Materials and repair, and the role of this concept in the repair system. In this thesis, I try to contribute to a better integration of the Critical Raw Materials concept into a circular economy, thus trying to improve the alignment between European supported goals of maintaining CRM supply, and consumer movements about the right to repair.
Related dataset 4TU.ResearchData: https://doi.org/10.4121/98e9f16a-157c-4120-9a17-09d0cfee7d91