Regulating e-waste disposal
Last chapter, we discussed all the implications and impacts that e-waste pollution has on the world we live in. Now, in the first post in the “Solutions” chapter, let’s turn our attention to the possible strategies that could help mitigate and alleviate the global e-waste problem.
Naturally, when one talks about possible solutions, the first thing that comes to mind is usually laws regarding the regulation of e-waste disposal. As part of the global shift towards sustainable e-waste management, an estimated 66% of the world is currently covered under e-waste legislation (Balde, 2017). While this number has risen over the past decade, it is still not enough.
A comparison of the number of countries in the world that were covered by e-waste legislation in 2014, 2017 and 2019 (Forti, 2020).
However, e-waste legislation at present is still lacking in many ways. Different countries have different country-specific issues regarding e-waste, and thus also have different e-waste legislation. However, some experts have criticised this, saying that this is not holistic enough (Patil & Ramakrishna, 2020). According to Patil & Ramakrishna (2020), each country has flaws regarding their current e-waste legislative frameworks—places like South Korea and Taiwan, for instance, do not have comprehensive enough laws that include all stakeholders and their responsibilities. Other places like Europe and India have comprehensive laws, but weak enforcement which diminishes the effectiveness of their legislations.
Besides just individual country laws, experts have emphasised the need for an international council to properly regulate and co-ordinate e-waste management efforts across the world. After all, as mentioned in previous posts, the e-waste challenge is one that has cross-boundary drivers and impacts. On top of this, a good proportion of the world is still not covered by e-waste legislation, and they are often located in the developing world. As such, developing a uniform global standards is crucial for the future of e-waste management.
References
Balde, C. P., Forti, V., Gray, V., Kuehr, R., & Stegmann, P. (2017). The global e-waste monitor 2017: quantities, flows and resources. United Nations University, International Telecommunication Union, and International Solid Waste Association.
Forti, V. (2020). Global electronic waste up 21 percent in five years, and recycling isn’t keeping up. The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 14 March 2022, from https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2020/07/23/global-electronic-waste-up-21-in-five-years-and-recycling-isnt-keeping-up.html.
Patil, R. A., & Ramakrishna, S. (2020). A comprehensive analysis of e-waste legislation worldwide. Environmental Science and Pollution Research International, 27(13), 14412-14431. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-07992-1.