E-waste management in developing countries through legislation and regulations: a case study of China

E-waste is an emerging issue driven by the rapidly increasing quantities, the hazardsinvolved and the valuable materials in it. Due to a lack of environmentally soundtechnologies or equipment and the imperfect e-waste management system, the poorquality e-waste recycling and disposal methods commonly practiced in developingcountries now have serious and hazardous effects on the environment and theworkers'/residents' health. Additionally, industrialized countries are exportingincreasing quantities of e-waste to developing countries, complicating the situationfinther. The environmental and health issues caused by e-waste in developingcountries have resulted in the search for solutions to address this problem before itbecomes worse.The main purpose of this research is to find how legislation and regulations be used toimprove management of e-waste in developing countries especially studying a case inChina on e-waste management, which is a very helpful example to other developingcountries which are also facing the same e-waste'issue. A case study methodology wasused in this research. To collect data, semi-structured interviews with officers orexperts from key relevant government departments/institutions involved in e-wastemanagement/regulation, from electronic appliance producers, from customers atdifferent levels of the value chain, as well as direct and non-participant observationswere carried out in six cities of China. For another perspective, the review of relevantdepartmental documents/publications was also carried out to multiply the source ofdata. In this case study the analysis relies largely on qualitative data and interpretivemethods, applied to what was found in interviews/observations and what is writtendown in documents/ literatures.The research found that lack of systernatic and enforceable law and regulations hasbecome the most serious obstacle in the e-waste management system and limited the effective control of e-waste in developing countries. Developing subsidiaryregulations and standards could support the enforcement of the main national law andregulations on e-waste management and it could farther urge the development of localregulations to improve the enforceýbility of the national law and regulations.Identifying the principal administrative department and coordinating the cooperationof various departments could avoid the duplication of administrative functions amonggovernment departments. It is important to construct monitoring systems to supervisethe enforcement of the regulations and construct the standards and registration systemto qualify the e-waste recycling and disposal enterprises, the secondhand market ofelectronic products and the regenerative resources market of reusable materials in ewaste.The economic differences made it possible to formulate special regulations foreconomically backward areas compared to the, more advanced areas even within onecountry. Improving the existing e-waste recovery system and regulating the paymentsystem according to the local economic conditions for e-waste recycling and disposalcould improve the integrated management of e-waste. Producers as well asgovernment and even consumers should be responsible for e-waste together. Thegovernment needs to continuously strengthen regulatory systems to ensure that thehuge economic benefits from the e-waste recycling industry are not overshadowed bythe negative impact on the workers'/residents' welfare and overall environmental sustainability,