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How E-Waste Challenges Environmental Governance

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Abstract

This chapter examines how e-waste—waste from electronic and electrical equipment—poses a challenge for environmental governance. It is estimated that the amount of e-waste generated globally every year will reach about 72 billion tonnes by 2017. This chapter discusses how e-waste is a challenge for the control of illegal trade as well as for the prevention of environmental harm. By focusing on the role of state, corporate, and civil society actors, insights are gained into the strengths and limitations of the governance framework. This suggests the need for reflection about both practical and theoretical implications that arise for environmental governance.

The chapter originally appeared as an article in Vol. 3, No 2, pages 81–95 of the Special Edition on Green Criminology in the International Journal of Crime, Justice and Social Democracy.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    E-waste refers to all types of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) that is discarded, such as television sets, computers, mobile phones, tablets, refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, home entertainment and stereo systems and toys.

  2. 2.

    For more information, please consult http://ewasteguide.info/hazardous_substances.

  3. 3.

    http://www.cec.org/hazwaste/Page.asp?PageID=5001&ContentID=341&SiteNodeID=204&BL_ExpandID=60.

  4. 4.

    The discovery of and media attention for dump sites of toxic waste in developing countries during the 1980s and 1990s led to the adoption of international and European legislative frameworks that regulate waste transports. Examples of these are the Basel Convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal; Montreal Protocol on ozone-depleting substances; and OECD decision on control of cross-border movements of waste destined for recovery operations; European Waste Shipment Regulation; Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment; Bamako Convention on the Ban of the Import into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within Africa.

  5. 5.

    Over the several phases of IMPEL-TFS measurements (2006–2012), the number of administrative violations decreased from 52 to 37 %, but the number of illegal shipments, subject to an export ban increased from 33 to 38 %.

  6. 6.

    For instance the European WEEE Directive (on waste of electronic and electrical equipment) or the Directive on the restriction of hazardous substances.

  7. 7.

    These risk indicators can refer to particular destinations (risk countries, suspicious streets), descriptions of the goods, value added tax (VAT) numbers and the value of the goods.

  8. 8.

    For instance: UNDP (solid waste management); WTO (sustainable/recycling waste trade); World Bank (solid waste management); OECD (waste management, sustainable use of materials); (2001); WCO (combating environmental crime—MEAs); INTERPOL (illegal waste trade).

  9. 9.

    Last consulted 24 April 2014].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, USA

    Dr. Lieselot Bisschop

  2. Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Dr. Lieselot Bisschop

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  1. Dr. Lieselot Bisschop
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Correspondence to Lieselot Bisschop .

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  1. Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, United Kingdom

    Tanya Wyatt

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Bisschop, L. (2016). How E-Waste Challenges Environmental Governance. In: Wyatt, T. (eds) Hazardous Waste and Pollution. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18081-6_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18081-6_3

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