Mapping international flows of electronic waste

Lepawsky, Josh; Mcnabb, Chris

doi:10.1111/j.1541-0064.2009.00279.x

Cited by 141 publications

(108 citation statements)

References 81 publications

(66 reference statements)

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“…Nominal GDP is the standard parameter to describe the economic growth of a country, which explains its common use in economy-related assessments. For e-waste, a link with GDP was reported or assumed previously for some countries [32][33][34][35], and our results, based on data from a larger number of countries, confirms that very strong economic elasticity exists for e-waste. Furthermore, the results show that the economic elasticity is revealed when using nominal GDP for the analysis, and when alternatively using GDP PPP (referring to purchasing power parity).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

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The Link between e-Waste and GDP—New Insights from Data from the Pan-European Region

Kusch

Hills

2017

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Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is difficult to sustainably manage. One key issue is the challenge of planning for WEEE flows as current and future quantities of waste are difficult to predict. To address this, WEEE generation and gross domestic product (GDP) data from 50 countries of the pan-European region were assessed. A high economic elasticity was identified, indicating that WEEE and GDP are closely interlinked. More detailed analyses revealed that GDP at purchasing power parity (GDP PPP) is a more meaningful measure when looking at WEEE flows, as a linear dependency between WEEE generation and GDP PPP was identified. This dependency applies to the whole region, regardless of the economic developmental stage of individual countries. In the pan-European region, an increase of 1000 international $ GDP PPP means an additional 0.5 kg WEEE is generated that requires management.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…For e-waste, economic elasticity was previously assumed or documented for some countries [32][33][34][35], but an assessment based on larger data sets is not yet available. Therefore, this work evaluates the relationship between e-waste and GDP in the countries in the pan-European region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Link between e-Waste and GDP—New Insights from Data from the Pan-European Region

Kusch

Hills

2017

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“…In order to prohibit transport of e-waste from developed to developing countries and to tighten waste legislation in developed countries, the (Lepawsky et al, 2010). Thus shipping of e-waste to developing countries became legal if the e-waste was labelled as second-hand and/or was destined for reuse and recycling.…”

Section: E-waste Regulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The higher cost of formal recycling and stricter regulations in developed countries cause a flow of true e-waste to developing countries with weaker legislation (Lepawsky et al, 2010). This includes countries such as China, India, Pakistan and Nigeria.…”

Section: Informal Recycling In Developing Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Informal Electronic Waste Recycling in Pakistan

Umair¹,

Anderberg²,

Potting³

2016

J Solid Waste Technol Mngmnt

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The aim of this thesis was to study governance aspects of informal electronic waste recycling and to provide better knowledge of the business in terms of structure, stakeholders, governance aspects and social impacts.The thesis consists of a cover essay and two papers appended at the end of the thesis. The cover essay summarizes the papers and puts them in context. The objective of Paper I is to study the business of informal electronic waste recycling in Pakistan and highlight its governance issues.Paper II assesses the social impacts of this business using UNEP-SETAC Guidelines for Social Life Cycle Assessment.The thesis examines these specific questions: Q1) What is the current Paper I presents the international and local e-waste flows, business structure, the stakeholders involved and the existing governance issues of the business. It shows weak enforcement of legislation, the complexities emerging with numerous stakeholders, the profitability of informal recycling, little concern for the health damaging exposure for workers from the poorest and most vulnerable people in society, and lack of awareness of the hazards involved. The paper also highlights how this 2 business lacks characteristics of good governance, which makes it a challenge to control this business.Paper II assesses the social impacts of informal e-waste recycling in Pakistan using UNEP/SETAC guidelines for conducting a Social Lifecycle Assessment (SLCA). It showed that this business has positive impacts relating to societal issues and individual/family economics, and in the economic development of Pakistan but otherwise most impacts are negative. The findings of Paper II fill an important data gap and can be integrated with data on other stages of ICT product lifecycle to produce a full SLCA of such products. Resultaten av studien fyller en viktig kunskapslucka och kan integreras med uppgifter om andra stadier av elektroniska produkters livscykel för att göra en full SLCA av sådana produkter.

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“…3 see Lepawsky and McNabb 2009 for the routes taken by e-waste) to differentiated destinations for instance e-waste in West Africa (European Environment Agency, 2009), and Southern China (Iles, 2004;Tong & Wang, 2004) or textiles in India (Norris, 2005), where they are ‗recycled' into yet further commodities.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Death of Great Ships: Photography, Politics, and Waste in the Global Imaginary

Crang

2010

Environ Plan A

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Mapping international flows of electronic waste

Abstract: In this paper, we map the international trade in electronic waste (e-waste). We quantify the directions and magnitude of this trade at the global scale and examine the utility of the pollution haven hypothesis

Cited by 141 publications

References 81 publications

The Link between e-Waste and GDP—New Insights from Data from the Pan-European Region

The Link between e-Waste and GDP—New Insights from Data from the Pan-European Region

Informal Electronic Waste Recycling in Pakistan

The Death of Great Ships: Photography, Politics, and Waste in the Global Imaginary

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