Who’s responsible for e-waste?
It’s the age-old debate of who’s responsible for the management of e-waste—is it the consumers, or the producers?
We could spend forever debating this topic, but it’s undeniable that both sides have some part to play to a certain extent. In order to hold producers more accountable, extended producer responsibility (EPR) principles have been established as part of e-waste regulation strategies worldwide.
The management process of e-waste as framed by EPR, which can help to drive a zero-waste circular economy (Zero Waste Scotland, n.d.).
The OECD defines EPR as an environmental policy approach, whereby producers’ responsibility for a product extends to the post-consumer stage of the product’s life cycle (OECD, 2016). This effectively places the responsibility for tackling e-waste on the corporations which are producing and selling electronic products.
Countries around the world have their own variations of EPR-driven policies. In Switzerland, the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the Advance Recycling Fee (AFR) policy exist to ensure that producers and importers of electronic goods manage the e-waste generated (Adanu, 2020). Across the globe in Japan, the Home Appliance Recycling Law, which went into force in 2001, which dictates that producers have to consider product recycling in the design and production of their products (Cao et al., 2016).
EPR-driven schemes are just one way in which a zero-waste circular economy could be achieved. In future posts, we’ll talk more about innovative ways in which producers have approached EPR regulations.
References
Adanu, S. K., Gbedemah, S. F., & Attah, M. K. (2020). Challenges of adopting sustainable technologies in e-waste management at Agbogbloshie, Ghana. Heliyon, 6(8), e04548-e04548. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04548.
Cao, J., Lu, B., Chen, Y., Zhang, X., Zhai, G., Zhou, G., Jiang, B., & Schnoor, J. L. (2016). Extended producer responsibility system in China improves e-waste recycling: Government policies, enterprise, and public awareness. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 62, 882-894. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.04.078.
OECD. (2016). Extended producer responsibility: updated guidance for efficient waste management. OECD Publishing, Paris. Retrieved 24 March 2022, from https://doi-org.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/10.1787/9789264256385-en.
Zero Waste Scotland. (n.d.). Extended Producer Responsibility. Retrieved 24 March 2022, from https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/our-work/extended-producer-responsibility.