Combating the Illicit Trade of Electronic Waste through Innovation

Abstract

Electronic waste is a complex waste stream. The growing volume and the complexity in dismantling this waste stream causes electronic waste to be trafficked illegally. Illegally trafficked electronic waste ends up in the developing world, in a sector called the informal sector. Push, pull and facilitating factors interact on electronic waste that causes it to be directed to the informal sector. Push factors are due to regulations and the cost to process electronic waste correctly. Pull factors are due to the profit that can be extracted from electronic waste without the costs of regulatory compliance. These factors could potentially be manipulated to redirect electronics away from the illicit trade. Part of the solution exists in finding an ideal technology that can be implemented in the informal sector. The ideal technology is a theoretical technology that, if implemented, would perfectly recycle and recover valuable materials from electronic waste. The current processes, both traditional and advanced, are compared in this thesis to an ideal technology, and the gaps in current processes shown that would need to be overcome through innovation. Such an ideal technology could transform a linear economy into a closed loop. This would create a safe operating space according to nine planetary boundaries. The boundaries are an indication of humanities impact on Earth’s environmental systems. Implementation of an ideal technology through a staged business model. The initial stage would attempt to transform the informal sector into a formal sector. The second stage would see the expansion of the business model with the implementation of the ideal technology to the developed world to process electronic waste at source. Combined, this innovation would help combat the illicit trade of electronic waste.