Skip to main content

Environmental Victimisation and Conflict Resolution: A Case Study of e-Waste

  • Chapter
Emerging Issues in Green Criminology

Part of the book series: Critical Criminological Perspectives ((CCRP))

Abstract

Environmental crime and the victimisation it causes is a topic that has been neglected in both victimology and criminology for a long time. In the last decades, criminology has had an increasing focus on environmental crime (White, 2009). This fits within a broader critical development, which looks beyond crime towards legally ambiguous behaviours that cause social harm (Hillyard et al., 2004). The harmful effects of several transnational environmental crimes are the impacts on the quality of water, soil, and air, as well as on the survival of endangered species and on climate change (Walters, 2007; Stretesky and Lynch, 2009). Identifying the victims is not straightforward, because it requires thinking about both geographical and temporal dimensions of victimisation, evoking a more abstract and hidden victim (Goodey, 2005).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Aertsen, I., Vanfraechem, I. and Crawford, A. (2010) Restorative Justice and Crime Prevention. Presenting a Theoretical Exploration, an Empirical Analysis and the Policy Perspective. Final report of the European project ‘Restorative Justice and Crime Prevention’. Italy: Department of Juvenile Justice. Available at http://euforumrj.org/assets/upload/Restorative_Justice_and_Crime_Prevention_Final_report.pdf

    Google Scholar 

  • Aertsen, I., Vanspauwen, K., Arsovska, J., Rochne, H. and Valinas M. (eds) (2008) Restoring Justice after Large-Scale Violent Conflicts Devon. Devon: Willan Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amoyaw-Osei, Y., Opoku Agyekum, O., Pwamang, J. A., Mueller, E., Fasko, R. and Schluep M. (2011) Ghana e-Waste Country Assessment. SBC e-Waste Africa Project, Green Advocacy Ghana (Green Ad), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Secretariat of the Basel Convention (SBC), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt (EMPA). Available at http://wscep.org/Posts/581/Documents/Amoyaw-Osei 2011 GreenAd-Emna.ndf

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayres, I. and Braithwaite, J. (1992) Responsive Regulation: Transcending the Deregulation Debate. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker, E., Bournay, E., Harayama, A. and Rekacewics, P. (2004) Vital Waste Graphics, Basel Convention, GRID, UNEP and DEWA Europe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Basel Action Network (2005) The Digital Dump. Exporting Re-use and Abuse to Africa. Seattle, WA, The Basel Action Network (BAN).

    Google Scholar 

  • Basel Action Network and S. V. T. Coalition (2002) Exporting Harm: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia. Seattle, WA: The Basel Action Network (BAN); San Jose, CA: Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bisschop, L. (2012) ‘Is it all going to waste? Illegal transports of e-waste in a European trade hub’, Crime, Law and Social Change, 58(3): 221–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bisschop, L. (2013). ‘Go with the e-waste flows. The governance reality of illegal transports of e-waste in a European trade hub’, in P. van Duyne, J. Harvey, G. Antonopoulos, K. von Lampe, A. Maljević and J. Spencer (eds) Human Dimensions in Organised Crime, Money Laundering and Corruption. Nijmegen: Wolf Legal Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Box, S. (1983) Power, Crime and Demystification. London: Tavistock.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Brack, D. and Hayman, G. (2002) International Environmental Crime: The Nature and Control of Environmental Black Markets. Sustainable Development Programme, RIIA workshop, 27–28 May 2002. London: Royal Institute of International Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braithwaite, J. (2002) Restorative Justice and Responsive Regulation. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braithwaite, J. (2008) Regulatory Capitalism: How it Works, Ideas for Making it Work Better. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Cardwell, P., French, D. and Hall, M. (2011) ‘Tackling environmental crime in the European Union: the case of the missing victim?’ Environmental Law and Management, 23(3): 113–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crem (2008) Een analyse van stromen electronica-afval in Nederland [Analysis of e-waste flows in the Netherlands]. Amsterdam: Crem Milieu Onderzoeks- en Adviesbureau.

    Google Scholar 

  • Croall, H. (2001). Understanding White Collar Crime. Buckingham, Philadelphia: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Croall, H. (2007) ‘Victims of white collar and corporate crime’, in P. Davies, P. Francis and C. Greer (eds) Victims, Crime and Society. London: Sage Publications, pp. 78–108.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cunneen, C. (2002) ‘Restorative justice and the politics of decolonization’, in E. Weitekamp and H. Kerner (eds) Restorative Justice: Theoretical Foundations. Devon: Willan Publishing, pp. 32–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Rijck, R. (2011) A flaw in the criminal approach of international waste transport in Europe. INECE 9th International Conference. British Columbia: Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Drapkin, I. and Viano, E. (1974). Victimology: A New Focus. Vol. V, Exploiters and the Exploited. Lexington: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt (EMPA) (2009). ‘Ewasteguide.info: Hazardous Substances in e-Waste.’ Retrieved 23 August 2011, from file:///D:/Mypercent20Documents/PhD_transnatenvironmcrime-andgovernance/Hazardouspercent20Substancespercent20inpercent20e-Wastep ercent20percent20percent20ewasteguide.info.htm.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elias, R. (1986) The Politics of Victimization. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Environmental Investigation Agency (2011) System Failure. The UK’s Harmful Trade in Electronic Waste. London: Environmental Investigation Agency.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Commission (2011) Recast of the WEEE Directive. Retrieved 12 December 2011, from http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/weee/index en.htm.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Environment Agency (2009) Waste without Border in the EU? Transboundary Shipments of Waste. Copenhagen: European Environment Agency.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fattah, E. (2010) ‘The evolution of a young, promising discipline: sixty years of victimology, a retrospective and prospective look’, S. G. Shoham, P. Knepper and M. Kett (eds) International Handbook of Victimology. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, pp. 43–94.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, C., Hedal, N., Carlsen, R., Doujak, K., Legg, D., Oliva, J., Lüdeking Sparvath, S., Viisimaa, M., Weissenbach, T. and Werge, M. (2008) Transboundary Shipments of Waste in the EU. Developments 1995–2005 and Possible Drivers. Copenhagen: European Environment Agency — European Topic Centre on Resource and Waste Management.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedrichs, D. (2002) ‘Occupational crime, occupational deviance, and workplace crime: Sorting out the difference’, Criminal Justice, 2(3): 243–256.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs, C., McGarrell, E. F. and Axelrod, M. (2010) ‘Transnational white-collar crime and risk. Lessons from the global trade in electronic waste’, Criminology and Public Policy, 9(3): 543–560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs, C. and Simpson, S. S. (2009) ‘Measuring corporate environmental crime rates: progress and problems’, Crime, Law and Social Change, 51(1): 87–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, M. J. and Russell, S. (2002) ‘Globalization of criminal justice in the corporate context’, Crime, Law and Social Change, 38(3): 211–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodey, J. (2005) Victims and Victimology: Research, Policy and Practice, Harrow, England: Pearson Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenpeace (2008a) Chemical Contamination at e-waste Recycling and Disposal Sites in Accra and Korforida, Ghana. Greenpeace, UK: Greenpeace Research Laboratories.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenpeace (2008b) Poisening the Poor. Electronic Waste in Ghana. Amsterdam: Greenpeace International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunningham, N., Kagan, R. and Thornton, D. (2003) Shades of Green: Business, Regulation and Environment. Standford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, M. (2011) ‘Environmental victims: challenges for criminology and victimology in the 21st century’, Varstvoslovje/Journal of Criminal Justice and Security, 13(4): 371–391.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heiss, R., Ruessink, H., Isarin, N., Koparova, M. and Grabiel, D. (2011) International hazardous waste inspection project at seaports: results and recommendations. INECE 9th International Conference. British Columbia: Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hillyard, P., Pantazis, C., Tombs, S. and Gordon, D. (eds) (2004) Beyond Criminology: Taking Harm Seriously. Manitoba: Fernwood Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holley, C., Gunningham, N. and Shearing, C. (2012) The New Environmental Governance. Abingdon, New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huisman, W. (2009) ‘Schending van internationaal recht door ondernemingen’, in G. Vande Walle and P. Van Calster (eds), De criminologische kant van ondernemen. Den Haag, Boom Juridische Uitgevers, pp. 171–186.

    Google Scholar 

  • IMPEL-TFS (2005) IMPEL-TSF Threat Assessment Project, the Illegal Shipments of Waste among IMPEL Member States. London: Jill Dando Institute, University College London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Interpol (2009) Electronic Waste and Organized Crime. Assessing the Links. Phase II Report for the Interpol Pollution Crime Working Group. Interpol. Available at http://www.interpol.int/%E6%88%BF%E6%80%95en/Crime-areas/Environmental-crime/Resources

    Google Scholar 

  • King, G., Keohane, R. and Verba, S. (1994) Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leefmilieu, natuur en energie (LNE) [Environment, Nature and Energy] (2010) Afvalstromen in Vlaanderen: risicoprofiel. [Waste flows in Flanders: Risk Profiles]. Brussels: LNE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Long, M. A., Stretesky, P. B., Lynch, M. J. and Fenwick, E. (2012) ‘Crime in the coal industry: implications for green criminology and treadmill of production’, Organization and Environment, first published on 1 July, doi:10.1177/ 1086026612452266.

    Google Scholar 

  • McEvoy, K. and McConnachie, K. (2012) ‘Victimology in transitional justice: victimhood, innocence and hierarchy’, European Journal of Criminology, 9(5): 527–538.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nordbrand, S. (2009) Out of Control. E-waste Trade Flows from the EU to Developing Countries. Stockholm: SwedWatch.

    Google Scholar 

  • Passas, N. (1999) ‘Globalization, criminogenic asymmetries and economic crime’, European Journal of Law Reform, 1(4): 399–423.

    Google Scholar 

  • Passas, N. and Goodwin, N. (eds) (2004) It’s Legal but It Ain’t Right: Harmful Social Consequences of Legal Industries. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearce, F. and Tombs, S. (1998) Toxic Capitalism: Corporate Crime and the Chemical Industiy. Aldershot: Dartmouth Publishing Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pellow, D. (2007) ResistingGlobal Toxics: Transnational Movements forEnvironmental Justice. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prakash, S. and Manhart, A. (2010) Socio-economic Assessment and Feasibility Study on Sustainable E-waste Management in Ghana. Freiburg: Öko-Instutut e.V.; Inspectorate of the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment of the Netherlands (VROM-Inspectorate) and the Dutch Association for the Disposal of Metal and Electrical Products (NVMP).

    Google Scholar 

  • Quadri, S. (2010) ‘An analysis of the effects and reasons for hazardous waste importation in India and its implementation of the Basel Convention’, Florida Journal of International Law, 22(3): 467.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, B. (2009) ‘E-waste: an assessment of global production and environmental impacts’, Science of the Total Environment, 408: 183–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schluep, M., Rochat, D., Wanjira, A. M., Laissaoui, S. E., Wone, S., Kane, C. and Hieronymi, K. (2008) Assessing the e-waste situation in Africa. Electronics Goes Green 2008+ (8–10 September Berlin). Available at http://www.ewasteguide.info

  • Schwarzer, S., De Bono, A., Giuliani, G., Kluser, S. and Peduzzi, P. (2005) E-waste, the Hidden Side of IT Equipment’s Manufacturing and Use. United Nations Environment Programme. Retrieved from http://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/ unige:23132

    Google Scholar 

  • Sepúlveda, A., Schluep, M., Renaud, F. G., Streicher, M., Kuehr, R., Hagelüken, C. and Gerecke, A. C. (2010) ‘A review of the environmental fate and effects of hazardous substances released from electrical and electronic equipments during recycling: examples from China and India’, Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 30(1): 28–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skinnider, E. (2011) Victims of Environmental Crime — Mapping the Issues. Vancouver: The International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slapper, G. and Tombs, S. (1999) Corporate Crime. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • South, N. (1998) ‘Corporate and state crimes against the environment: foundations for a green perspective in European Criminology’, in V. Ruggiero, N. South and I. Taylor (eds) The New European Criminology: Crime and Social Order in Europe. London and New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • South, N. (2007) ‘The corporate colonisation of nature: bio-prospecting, bio-piracy and the development of green criminology’, in P. Beirne and N. South (eds) Issues in Green Criminology. Confronting Harms against Environments, Humanity and Other Animals. Portland: Willan Publishing, pp. 230–247.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stephens, S. (2009) ‘Reflections on environmental justice: children as victims and actors’, Social Justice, 23(4): 62–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stover, E. and Weinstein, H. (eds) (2004) My Neighbor, My Enemy: Justice and Community in the Aftermath of Mass Atrocity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strang, H. and Sherman, L. (2003) ‘Repairing the harm: victims and restorative justice’, Utah Law Review, 1: 15–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stretesky, P. and Lynch, M. (1998) ‘Corporate environmental violence and racism’, Crime, Law and Social Change, 30(2): 163–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stretesky, P. and Lynch, M. (2009) ‘Does self-policing reduce chemical emissions?’ The Social Science Journal, 46(3): 459–473.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Environment Programme (2005) E-waste, the Hidden Side of IT Equipment’s Manufacturing and Use, see Schwarzer et al. (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Environment Programme (2006) Call for Global Action on E-waste, United Nations Environment Programme available at: http://www.unep.org/documents.multilingual/default.asp?articleid=5447&documentid=496&1=en

    Google Scholar 

  • van Erp, J. and Huisman, W. (2010) ‘Smart regulation and enforcement of illegal disposal of electronic waste’, Criminology and Public Policy, 9(3): 579–590.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vande Walle, G. (2012) ‘Conflict resolution or risk management?’ in P. Ponsaers (ed.) Social Analysis of Security — Financial, Economic and Ecological Crime — Crime, (In)security and (Dis)trust — Public and Private Policing. The Hague: Eleven International Publishers, pp. 31–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • von Hentig, H. (1948) The Criminal and His Victim. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • VROM-inspectie (2011). Evaluatie en vooruitblik ketenproject elektrische en elektronische apparaten 2010 [Evaluation and preview supply chain project electrical and electronic equipment 2010]. Den Haag, Volkshuisvesting, Ruimtelijke Ordening en Milieubeheer (VROM) Inspectie — Directie Uitvoering.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walters, R. (2007) ‘Crime, regulation and radioactive waste in the United Kingdom’, in P. Beirne and N. South (eds) Issues in Green Criminology. Confronting Harms againstEnvironments, Humanity and OtherAnimals. Portland: Willan Publishing, pp. 186–205.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, R. (2007) ‘Green criminology and the pursuit of social and ecological justice’, in P. Beirne and N. South (eds) Issues in Green Criminology. Confronting Harms against Environments, Humanity and Other Animals. Portland: Willan Publishing, pp. 32–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, R. (ed.) (2009) Environmental Crime: A Reader. Collumpton: Willan Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, R. (2011) Transnational Environmental Crime. Towards an Eco-global Criminology. London and New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, C. (1996) ‘An environmental victimology’. Social Justice. 23(4): 16–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yin, R. (2009) Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2013 Lieselot Bisschop and Gudrun Vande Walle

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Bisschop, L., Vande Walle, G. (2013). Environmental Victimisation and Conflict Resolution: A Case Study of e-Waste. In: Walters, R., Westerhuis, D.S., Wyatt, T. (eds) Emerging Issues in Green Criminology. Critical Criminological Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137273994_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics