A model to rapidly assess informal electronic waste systems

2020 ◽  
pp. 0734242X2093222
Author(s):  
John-Michael Davis

Electronic waste (e-waste) policies have traditionally been based on extended producer responsibility (EPR) principles. In practice, EPR-based e-waste policies primarily involve the creation of regulated collection and recycling channels, with success tied to achieving high collection quotas. However, the majority of EPR programs, particularly those in the Global South, have achieved little success due to competition with the informal sector. Despite this, strikingly little is known of the scope and dynamics of informal e-waste flows and actors during the formulation of e-waste management policies. This study develops and pilots a replicable three-stage model for solid waste researchers, practitioners and policymakers to rapidly assess these informal e-waste systems. This model is demonstrated in Cuenca, Ecuador, and determined the destination of 50–80% of Cuenca’s e-waste over a period of three days. The methods used and findings that emerge from this study offer a strategy to rapidly quantify and understand the dynamics of informal e-waste systems to inform EPR-based policies in ways that place informal recyclers at the core of e-waste management. This not only provides creative opportunities for formal systems to achieve e-waste collection quotas through partnerships with the informal sector, but offers a pathway to preserve the livelihoods of marginalized populations reliant on e-waste recycling and decrease environmental harm.

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oladipupo Salau ◽  
Lalita Sen ◽  
Samuel Osho ◽  
Oluwatoyin Adejonwo-Osho

Municipalities in metropolitan cities of developing countries often find it difficult to cope with the onerous task of providing waste services to their citizens due to financial constraints and poor infrastructure.  In most of these cities, waste collection services are grossly inadequate as less than half the population is served with regular and efficient waste services.  However, the shortcomings of the formal waste management system are compensated by the activities of the informal sector engaged in waste collection and make significant contributions to the MWMS through material recovery and waste recycling. In view of this, the study focuses on the roles of the formal and informal sector in municipal waste management with regards to their impacts on the recycling rate of Lagos State. In this study, we measured and compared the recycling rates between the formal and informal sectors to determine their impacts on the recycling rates of Lagos State. The study relies on primary field data, site visits and observations backed by secondary sources to investigate the range of informal sector activities in comparison to the formal sector. The findings indicate that, while both sub-sectors play significant roles in the MWMS, the informal recycling activities contribute more to the recycling rate of Lagos state than the formal sector.


Recycling ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Tetiana Shevchenko ◽  
Michael Saidani ◽  
Yuriy Danko ◽  
Ievgeniia Golysheva ◽  
Jana Chovancová ◽  
...  

Efficient electronic waste (e-waste) management is one of the vital strategies to save materials, including critical minerals and precious metals with limited global reserves. The e-waste collection issue has gained increasing attention in recent years, especially in developing countries, due to low collection rates. This study aims to search for progressive solutions in the e-waste collection sphere with close-to-zero transport and infrastructure costs and the minimization of consumers’ efforts towards an enhanced e-waste management efficiency and collection rate. Along these lines, the present paper develops a smart reverse system of e-waste from end-of-life electronics holders to local recycling infrastructures based on intelligent information technology (IT) tools involving local delivery services to collect e-waste and connecting with interactive online maps of users’ requests. This system considers the vehicles of local delivery services as potential mobile collection points that collect and deliver e-waste to a local recycling enterprise with a minimum deviation from the planned routes. Besides e-waste transport and infrastructure costs minimization, the proposed smart e-waste reverse system supports the reduction of CO2 through the optimal deployment of e-waste collection vehicles. The present study also advances a solid rationale for involving local e-waste operators as key stakeholders of the smart e-waste reverse system. Deploying the business model canvas (BMC) toolkit, a business model of the developed system has been built for the case of Sumy city, Ukraine, and discussed in light of recent studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 6-18
Author(s):  
S. E. Okosun ◽  
A. O. Omodehin ◽  
I. S. Ajayi

Management of wastes which is a part of the daily activities of man is an important aspect of environmental management. Over the years, there have been concerted efforts made towards adequately solving the problems created by improper waste management and disposal in Nigeria cities. This study, appraises environmental management in cities; a perspective from the Ondo state Waste Management Authority (OSWMA) Akure. The broad objectives of this study are to identify types of wastes managed by OSWMA, describe the attitude and role of residents (household) toward solid waste management, and examine the possible constraints faced by OSWMA, Akure in the discharge of their duties. Samples were drawn from the total number of OSWMA staff and clients served by the authority in the core, transition and peripheral districts of Akure. 53 questionnaires were administered to the staff representing 10% of the total number of staff while 324 questionnaires representing 1% of residents were administered, collated and analyzed using SPSS version 19. The results of the analysis, revealed that majority (81.1%) of the staff respondents opined that the type of waste managed by the Authority is solid waste; using the door to door method of solid waste collection as submitted by 54.5% of the staff. On the other hand, majority of the households’ respondents (81.4%) expressed willingness to pay for service rendered by the authority. Findings also revealed that poor funding was the main constraints faced by the authority. The study therefore recommends proper funding, provision of equipment and facilities needed for smooth running of the authority in order to ensure effective collection and management of waste in the study area.


2020 ◽  
Vol 169 ◽  
pp. 02010
Author(s):  
Roman Mamadzhanov ◽  
Yulia Zakirova ◽  
Mykhadi Umarov

The article presents the results of the research carried out by the foreign ecologists, particularly the study of the system of municipal waste management in the municipality of Maienfeld, Switzerland. The total amount of municipal waste has been calculated. The systems of municipal waste collection, sorting, transportation and recycling have been studied. Besides, four possible scenarios of waste recycling in Maienfeld have been developed. Moreover, the environmental assessment of the waste recycling system by GHG/SLCP emissions has been conducted, and the impact of recycling on the climate has been determined. Finally, taking into account the results of the research, the best scenario of recycling has been proposed.


2006 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROCÍO DEL PILAR MORENO-SÁNCHEZ ◽  
JORGE HIGINIO MALDONADO

In developing countries, informal waste-pickers (known as scavengers) play an important role in solid waste management systems, acting in a parallel way to formal waste collection and disposal agents. Scavengers collect, from the streets, dumpsites, or landfills, re-usable and recyclable material that can be reincorporated into the economy's production process. Despite the benefits that they generate to society, waste-pickers are ignored when waste management policies are formulated. The purpose of this paper is to integrate the role of scavengers in a dynamic model of production, consumption, and recovery, and to show that, in an economy producing solid waste, efficiency can be reached using a set of specific and complementary policies: a tax on virgin materials use, a tax on consumption and disposal, and a subsidy to the recovery of material. A numerical simulation is performed to evaluate the impact of these policies on landfill lifetime and natural resource stocks. A discussion on the implementation of these instruments is also included.


2020 ◽  
Vol 06 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
AUDREY OPARA ◽  

High obsolescence rate and end-of-life of electronic equipment resulting in high generation of electronic waste remains the biggest challenge with use of ICT in higher institutions. This study evaluated and developed an environmentally sound E-waste management system for higher institutions in Rivers State. The study employed research surveys in data acquisition through questionnaires, interviews and observation. Hypotheses were postulated to test areas of interest. Study indicated that institutions generate a reasonably amount of electronic/ICT wastes that are poorly managed. Desktop computers, printers, laptops, UPSs, old CRT monitors, and printer cartridges are the majority generated and available E-waste in storage in these institutions. Results revealed that the level of awareness on hazardous nature of E-waste among the sampled population was significant. The level awareness on E-waste recycling among sampled population was also significant. There are no accurate records or inventory of ICT equipment procurement and E-waste generation and disposal in the institutions. Policies and programs on source reduction E-waste segregation and handling, facilities for E-waste recovery, recycling and reuse are practically not available in the institutions. The study concluded that there is no proper management and disposal of electronic/ICT waste in higher institutions in Rivers State. Significant numbers of respondents expressed the need for the institutions to establish an integrated electronic/ICT waste recycling center. An Integrated E-waste management system that will not only address the current poor E-waste management practices in the institutions but also achieve environmentally sound management of E-wastes in the institutions has been developed in the study.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Stephanus Kelvin ◽  
Helena J. Kristina ◽  
Eric Jobiliong

<p><em>Electronic waste (e-waste) has become environmental issue in Indonesia. Several tons of e-waste was generated each year. Available landfills will not be sufficient to accommodate e-waste that people produce. Waste bank become one of many solutions to overcome this problem. Implementation of pilot project in waste bank is needed to see the prospects of e-waste collection in waste bank. Thus, the goal of this research is to design a value chain system for e-waste collection prospect in waste bank and system simulation as the foundation for implementing a pilot project. </em><em></em></p><p><em>Simulations on 2 scenarios had been done to determine profitability of e-waste collection’s pilot project in waste bank. Based on simulation, it is known that there is profit generated from e-waste recycling process for 2 scenarios. Ranges of profit for 2 months are Rp. 7.963.879 - Rp. 40.447.047 for scenario 1 and Rp. 7.952.394 – 40.435.561 for scenario 2. If only PCB component that could be recycled, profit for 2 months still can be generated in the range Rp. 689.964 – Rp. 6.398.486 for scenario 1 and Rp. 678.478 – Rp. 6.387.000 for scenario 2. Thus, implementation of e-waste collection’s pilot project in waste bank is profitable.</em></p>


Author(s):  
Slamet Raharjo ◽  
Al Hadi Utomo

Electronic waste management in Indonesia is currently not a major concern for various parties and is relatively left behind when compared to developed countries. This study aims to evaluate the existing conditions of electronic waste management in Indonesia and compile recommendations for electronic waste management programs in Indonesia. This research was conducted by collecting primary data from questionnaires and collecting secondary data from the literature on electronic waste management in developed countries (United States, Japan, and Switzerland) and Indonesia. The collected data were compared and analyzed for compiling strategy in the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). Recommendation programs for electronic waste management in Indonesia were established based on SWOT Matrix. The evaluation results show that the existing conditions of electronic waste management in Indonesia are lagging compared to developed countries. The management recommendation program provided is the 4R programs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Remove) for electronic waste; Dropbox to collect electronic waste; Development of formal electronic waste management infrastructure; Industrial revitalization / private electronic waste recycling facilities; Development of electronic waste landfill; Application of economic instruments for electronic manufacturers; Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for electronic equipment; Trade-in for all electronic products; and cooperate with the informal sector. Keywords: Developed countries, Electronic waste, Program recommendations, SWOT analysis, Waste management.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-20
Author(s):  
Rafia Afroz ◽  
Mohammad Muhibbullah ◽  
Puteri Farhana ◽  
Mohammad Niaz Morshed

Purpose To achieve proper waste management, the disposal of electronic waste (e-waste) is one suitable method. Most developing countries, including Malaysia, are facing lack of e-waste recycling facilities and low household participation. Using a survey method using a questionnaire, this study aims to examine the intention of Malaysian households to drop-off their mobile phones to the nearest collection boxes (n = 600). Design/methodology/approach This study expanded the theory of planned behavior by adding environmental awareness and knowledge. In addition, the cost of disposal and the convenience of the available disposal infrastructure were measured as two parts of the perceived behavioral control. Findings The results of this study show that environmental knowledge and awareness have a significant impact on attitudes toward recycling intention of the households. In addition, it was also found that the attitude and cost of disposal infrastructure is positively related to household intention. Originality/value These results show that if e-waste collection boxes are provided to the nearest community and e-waste management information is distributed, this will increase household participation in e-waste management.


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