A Review on Global E-Waste Management: Urban Mining towards a Sustainable Future and Circular Economy

The trending need for smarter electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is surging globally by the year and is giving rise to huge amounts of outdated EEE going into landfills. This has caused enormous threats to our environment and the health of living beings due to its unsustainable ways of collection, treatment and disposal of waste EEE or E-waste. With increasing E-waste, the formal sectors lack infrastructure, technology and expertise required to collect and process the E-waste in an environmentally sound manner. This article is intended to bring out the global best practices in the field of E-waste management, to shed light on the importance of policy implementation, technology requirement and social awareness to arrive at a sustainable and circular economy. Although about 71% of the world’s populace has incorporated E-waste legislation, there is a need to enforce and implement a common legal framework across the globe. The article explains the gap created among the stakeholders and their knowledge on the roles and responsibilities towards a legalized E-waste management. It further explains the lack of awareness on extended producer responsibility (EPR) and producer responsibility schemes. Despite various legislations in force, numerous illegal practices such as acid leaching, open incineration, illegal dumping carried out by the informal sector are causing harm to the environment, natural resources and the safety of unorganized and unskilled labor. The article discusses the crucial need for awareness amongst stakeholders, consumer behavior and the global challenges and opportunities in this field to achieve a low-carbon, circular economy. To conclude, the article highlights the importance of common legal framework, EPR and licenses, transformation of the informal sector, benchmark technologies, responsibilities of various stakeholders and entrepreneurial opportunities to enhance the formal capacity. The article wholly advocates for transparency, accountability and traceability in the E-waste recycling chain, thus creating a greener environment and protecting our planet and natural resources for future generations.

Modeling Factors Affecting Extended Producer Responsibility An ELV Case Study in Saudi Arabia

ELVs have become a worldwide concern as vehicles have become so common around the globe. Under the present circumstances where automobile usage is under rapid rise, ELV management is of high significance regarding the resource conservation, and waste management. This research paper manages to identify significant hindrances in realizing extended producer responsibility towards their product in the case of end of life vehicles recycling in Saudi Arabia utilizing interpretive structural modeling approach. By breaking down the current hindrances, one can look forward how to put ELV orders in Saudi Arabia later on and to position ELV management at a superior level along the lines of development prompting a better tomorrow.

The Role of Secondary Resource Market in the Development of the Extended Producer Responsibility Mechanism in Russia

The paper is aimed at the evaluation of current state of secondary resource market in Russia and the determination of factors of their influence on the extended producer responsibility (EPR). Research objectives include scientific justification of directions for the improvement of solid waste management handling process in the Russian regions in order to provide the support for manufactories and importers performing the extended producer responsibility activities. GAP-analysis was used as a method of obtaining the systematic results on the basis of the information received about the current state of the Russian secondary resource market according to various criteria, including the product quality, processing methods, communication between producers and consumers, and state regulations. Research is executed on the grounds of collaborative use of positivistic and phenomenological approaches, where the findings are based on the comparison of experts’ opinions on the factors influencing the development of EPR mechanism, and statistics of the financial performance of main players of the Russian secondary resource market. As a scientific novelty, it is proposed to use the development of secondary resource market for enhancing of EPR mechanism in Russia. The study reveals that successful functioning of the extended producer responsibility mechanism depends not only on business representatives involved in the production of goods and packaging, but also on consumers and on the state authorities.

The environmental component of ESG factors from the standpoint of management in a closed-loop economy

Various approaches to the implementation of the concept of extended producer responsibility in the European Union are considered, and the features of the introduction and use of the closed-cycle economy in European countries are determined. Some examples of the impact of waste legislation on the production cycle of a product in the European Union are considered, as well as the main obstacles that manufacturers had to face when trying to introduce the extended producer responsibility concept in its current form into production. The key problems of using and implementing the concept under consideration in the economy are highlighted. The interrelation of ESG factors as guidelines for strategic development with the need for the development of mechanisms of extended producer responsibility is shown. The prospects for the development of extended producer responsibility in Russian production are also outlined.

Provision of extended producer responsibility system for products packaging: A case study of Iran

A powerful legal tool in evolving solid waste management (SWM) systems is extended producer responsibility (EPR). It is a mechanism that shifts the responsibility of a product to manufacturers/importers at the ‘end-of-life’ stage. Yet, implementation of the EPR concept has faced difficulties in developing countries. In Iran, as one such country, the principle of EPR system was issued in executive regulation of SWM in 2005, however, so far, it has been limited to a voluntary scheme. The problem merits further investigation. Therefore, this study aims to shed light on the obstacles in the path of developing EPR system for product packaging. The research examines the current SWM systems in four functional classified frameworks: legal, institutional, financial and technical. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the system are elaborated through semi-structured interviews with a senior executive in the Ministry of Interior (MoI). Then, viable methods to increase resource efficiency and sustainable waste treatment are suggested. The change in the financing mechanism in the Budget Law 2020 forces the manufacturers/importers of products containing recyclable components to pay the revenue from one in 1000 products to MoI for developing recycling facilities and incinerators through partnerships with the private sector. This new strategy would promote proper management of product packaging, create more jobs and a market for international cooperation. However, poor source-separation of wet/dry waste, informal sector activities, exclusive focus on the economic aspect of waste management, lack of expertise and public awareness campaigns are the barriers in this regard.

Impact of Extended Producer Responsibility on the Development of Entrepreneurship in the Field of Waste Management

This article reveals the essence of the concept of extended producer responsibility. The influence of extended producer responsibility on entrepreneurship is described. The value of extended producer responsibility for the development of a closed-loop economy is determined.