| 1. |
- Lawhon, Mary, et al.
(författare)
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Solving/understanding/evaluating the e-waste challenge through transdisciplinarity?
- 2010
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Ingår i: Futures. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-3287. ; 42:10, s. 1212-1221
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Transdisciplinarity has been accepted as a promising research approach to respond to complex real-world problems such as electronic waste (e-waste). Already one of the fastest growing waste streams, e-waste is a sustainability challenge that shadows the pervasive uses of electronic devices in contemporary society. Previous studies have not only shown the toxicity and risks inherent in the hazardous waste but also economic value generated from its reuse and recycling and the environment justice implications of the existing transboundary movement of e-waste to developing countries. Responding to this multifaceted issue requires a transdisciplinary attempt at synthesis understandings, if not solutions. This paper reflects on an educational experiment to encourage disciplinary boundary crossing in the e-waste community through a summer school. The NVMP-StEP E-waste Summer School housed young researchers from diverse disciplines with a common research interest in e-waste. The event is evaluated against three sets of criteria that underpin successful transdisciplinary ventures: (i) clear, problem-oriented goals, (ii) careful preparation, institutional support and competent management, and (iii) communication and collaboration. Based on understandings and insights gained from the participation in the Summer School, participant surveys, and communications with organizers, six recommendations are outlined to help making similar events a better ground for transdisciplinarity in the future.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Manomaivibool, Panate
(författare)
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Advancing the Frontier of Extended Producer Responsibility: The management of waste electrical and electronic equipment in non-OECD countries
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has become a salient issue in non-OECD countries. With a growing awareness about serious damages to the environment and human health from a lack of safe treatment and recycling of WEEE, there has been a search for policy responses in several of these countries. This research finds that extended producer responsibility (EPR), a policy principle that underpins WEEE programmes in many OECD countries, can help solve the WEEE problem in non-OECD countries by putting the onus on the producers to ensure environmentally sound management of their end-of-life products and make improvements in their product systems, including change in product design. Although there are challenges to the implementation of EPR in emerging and developing economies, notably the problem of free riders and the competition for materials from the polluting recycling sector, they are manageable. In addition, opportunities exist that can facilitate the development of EPR-based solutions, such as the relatively small stock of historical WEEE and manufacturers that have the commitment and experiences with the principle. What is needed to realise this potential is for the policy-makers to create a policy framework that allows and encourages product and system innovations from the producers.
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| 4. |
- Manomaivibool, Panate, et al.
(författare)
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Buying back household waste electrical and electronic equipment: Assessing Thailand's proposed policy in light of past disposal behavior and future preferences
- 2012
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Ingår i: Resources, Conservation & Recycling. - : Elsevier BV. - 0921-3449. ; 68, s. 117-125
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article assesses the potential and the limitations of Thailand's proposed policy which would have local governments buy back targeted waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) from households at designated locations. The proposal relies on the premise that a monetary incentive at the time of disposal is needed to gain participation from households which would otherwise sell to private waste dealers who purchase and then introduce WEEE into the pollution-causing informal recycling sector. To see whether the premise and the proposed policy were valid, a large-scale survey of 1529 households was conducted. This article reports these households' past behavior in, and future preferences for the disposal of 10 particular WEEE items: televisions, digital cameras, portable media players, desktop printers, mobile phones, personal computers, refrigerators, air conditioners, fluorescent lamps, and dry-cell batteries, which were prioritized under the Thai WEEE Strategy. We also tested the effects of population density, distance to the hypothetical drop-off location, car ownership, product weight and the financial incentive offered on the respondents' past decisions and future choices. The survey results show that creating a standardized program to buy back WEEE at designated drop-off locations has a potential of getting household WEEE introduced into the formal recycling sector. It could also help eliminate the psychological hurdle of parting with obsolete products and encourage their disposal. However, the program may not be enough to convince people to stop selling WEEE to waste dealers, especially if they had done so in the past. Based on the results, recommendations to improve the viability of the proposed policy and to direct and enhance future research are outlined. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 5. |
- Manomaivibool, Panate, et al.
(författare)
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EPR in a non-OECD Context: An introduction to research projects on the management of WEEE
- 2008
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- There has been an upsurge of interest in the principle of extended producer responsibility (EPR) among policy makers and scholars in non-OECD countries. The principle has been applied and its impacts studied rather extensively in various OECD countries. However, similar experiences are largely lacking in non-OECD countries. This paper presents some ongoing research and preliminary findings on the management of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The research aims to explore both potentials and limitations of EPR under non-OECD conditions. Hitherto, there have been four projects in three countries: India, Thailand, and Argentina. The first project in India in 2007 investigated the specificity of this non-OECD context and the explanatory boundary of the principle. The second phase of the research studies a WEEE policy development in the three countries. At the time of writing, they appear to follow different courses of action. The India Government issued a guideline suggesting an incorporation of WEEE under the existing Hazardous Waste Rules. The Thai Government shows particular interest in economic instruments, such as product fees and deposit-refund system, and has been working on a draft law that would govern the use of these instruments for the management of some WEEE and other used products. In Argentina, a senator proposed a dedicated WEEE framework law based on EPR. Our analysis identifies collection of post-consumer WEEE as a major practical bottleneck particularly when there is a strong presence of the so-called informal sector. EPR can be a driving force for improvements by mobilising resources from producers and channelling them to end-of-life management. In addition, in a long run, it can lead to design changes in products and product systems. However, market anomalies in a non-OECD context such as sizeable black/grey markets for several product groups and/or illegal import of used products can put identifiable legal producers at a disadvantageous position and retard feedback mechanisms in an EPR programme. Thus, the applicability of policy alternatives should be assessed against the conditions of particular contexts. We also discuss the importance of problem definition in policy processes.
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| 6. |
- Manomaivibool, Panate
(författare)
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Extended producer responsibility in a non-OECD context: The management of waste electrical and electronic equipment in India
- 2009
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Ingår i: Resources, Conservation & Recycling. - : Elsevier BV. - 0921-3449. ; 53:3, s. 136-144
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has caused concern from many sectors of society due to its growing quantity and potential toxicity. The situation is particularly worrisome in some non-OECD countries, such as India and China, where acute health and environmental hazards have resulted from a combination of a lack of proper WEEE management systems and the domination of a large backyard recycling sector. This study explores the feasibility of dealing with such problems in a non-OECD context by applying extended producer responsibility (EPR), an environmental policy principle that has been applied to the management of WEEE in many OECD countries. Using India as a case study, this investigation identifies two main obstacles in the Indian context that can undermine the EPR mechanisms: large grey markets for some electronic products, and illegal imports of WEEE. Although an EPR programme might not be able to address the two problems on its own, there are measures that can curb the scale of these two illegal activities. More importantly, this analysis of the current situation in India suggests that a timely national programme based on the EPR principle can be a driving force for the formalisation of the downstream sector and strengthen the existing industrial initiatives such as voluntary take-back schemes.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Manomaivibool, Panate
(författare)
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Extended Producer Responsibility in East Asia: Approaches and lessons learnt from the management of waste electrical and electronic equipment
- 2008
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Ingår i: [Host publication title missing]. ; , s. 267-286
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Environmental protection has become high in the policy agenda of East Asian countries by the end of the last century due to both internal and external stimuli. One of the main environmental issues is the management of solid waste. The concept of circular economy which encourages reduce, reuse, and recycling, i.e. 3Rs, together with the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has been promoted principally in the region by the Japanese government and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), respectively. This paper reviews approaches to pursue EPR and analyses factors behind policy development and environmental effectiveness of the respective programmes in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan from the 1990s onward. The management of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE, or e(lectronic)-waste) is selected as an object of the study. A two-step theory-based evaluation (TBE) is employed to evaluate the effectiveness of WEEE programmes. This paper concludes that internal factors such as limits in waste disposal capacity are more powerful in explaining the speed of policy development and the exact design of WEEE programmes though the role of epistemic communities helps in understanding the policy discourse. The adoption of the restriction of the use of hazardous substances (RoHS) in East Asia, on the other hand, was driven mainly by international trade harmonisation. TBE shows that the impacts of existing WEEE programmes on design improvements varied and the main explanation was the degree of producers’ involvement in the end-of-life management, which was highest in Japan and lowest in Taiwan. It also shows that programmes in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, succeeded to an extent in promoting WEEE recycling although the actual achievements in the area of waste collection were not completely in line with the EPR intervention and implementation theories. In addition, this paper questions the role of exports of used products to less developed countries because this form of “reuse” can compromise environmental protection goals where the imported countries do not have a proper system to ensure environmentally sound management of WEEE when these products reach their ultimate end-of-life stage.
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| 10. |
- Manomaivibool, Panate, et al.
(författare)
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Extended producer responsibility in Thailand: Prospects for policies on waste electrical and electronic equipment
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Industrial Ecology. - : Wiley. - 1530-9290 .- 1088-1980. ; 15:2, s. 185-205
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) sheds light on the dimmer side of production and consumption patterns in modern societies. The rapid increase in its quantity and complexity contribute to the challenges it poses to solid waste management systems. Several members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have relied on the principle of extended producer responsibility (EPR) to tackle the issue, with varying degrees of success. Several non-OECD countries, including Thailand, are now developing WEEE programs and are looking for lessons from these first movers. This case study aims to provide an understanding both of this context and of the EPR program for WEEE proposed for Thailand. It finds that EPR mechanisms in general, and the proposed buy-back system financed by product fees in Thailand in particular, have a strong potential to consolidate WEEE collection for the formal recycling sector by offering end users monetary incentives. On the negative side, this is an expensive combination of policy instruments, and the institutional design of the governmental fund is rigid. The policy proposal also contains no mechanism for product redesign—one of the objectives in the national WEEE strategy. This article suggests that the effectiveness of the policy might benefit from more flexibility at the compliance scheme level, in order to lessen the monopoly of the governmental fund, as well as the introduction of differentiated fees to promote environmentally friendly products.
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| 11. |
- Manomaivibool, Panate
(författare)
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Making Sense of Extended Producer Responsibility: Towards a framework for policy transfer
- 2009
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Policy transfer of complex interventions often falls into the trap of uninformed, incomplete, and/or inappropriate transfer because the interventions are insufficiently identified with some of their perceived core components. This is no exception in the interspatial learning about extended producer responsibility (EPR) programmes. This thesis aims to transcend this shorthand approach to policy transfer. It combines the evaluations of EPR programmes for the management of end-of-life vehicles (ELV) and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in the developed world with the analysis of the contexts in developing countries. The political areas include the United Kingdom, Sweden, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, India, Argentina, and Thailand. The evaluation research applied theory-based evaluation (TBE) to archival and case data. The context studies used topical interviews and secondary data to conduct qualitative material flow analysis (MFA). The thesis maps out different variances of programmes and policy proposals, linking their mechanisms with policy outcomes, and then specifies key moderating and mediating factors in the actual contexts. In this way, it contributes to the prospect of policy development in developing countries by increasing the analytical tractability and checking the transferability of policy lessons.
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| 12. |
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| 13. |
- Manomaivibool, Panate
(författare)
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Network management and environmental effectiveness: the management of end-of-life vehicles in the United Kingdom and in Sweden
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526. ; 16:18, s. 2006-2017
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The principle of extended producer responsibility (EPR) has been a policy paradigm behind the development of waste policies in the European Union including the End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) Directive (2000/53/EC). This study compares and explains the environmental effectiveness of the ELV programmes in the United Kingdom and in Sweden between 1990 and 2005, using a framework that integrates the Dutch approach to policy network analysis (PNA) with a theory-based evaluation (TBE). It finds that: (1) the perception of the producers towards EPR can be influenced largely by their social interaction with other actors, (2) the announcement of policies, and (3) the cohesion of policy instruments are key factors affecting the effectiveness of the programmes. As the latter two depend on the determination and comprehension of national governments, the transposition of the EU EPR Directives might not automatically lead to effective implementation and intended outcomes unless the Member States adhere to the principle and the development of its intervention theory.
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| 14. |
- Manomaivibool, Panate, et al.
(författare)
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The Management of Used Mobile Phones in the United Kingdom -- Is exporting for re-use a sufficient solution?
- 2010
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Ingår i: Going Green CARE INNOVATION.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study examines the management of used mobile phones in the United Kingdom between 2005 and 2008. It shows that the replacement cycle for mobile phones got shorter during the period due to heavy handset subsidies given by mobile network operators. The planned obsolescence presented a business opportunity for the exports of used phones to developing countries. However, the collection for re-use is not a sufficient end-of-life strategy for two reasons. The first is a somewhat dubious fate of re-used phones in developing countries, whether they would ultimately pollute the environment as a result of backyard recycling. Second, the material flow analysis shows that the hibernating stock of uncollected handsets had grew larger during the period. This aging stock of hibernating phones would not be fit for the second hand markets and the WEEE Regulation only had marginal impacts on the collection of these small devices.
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| 15. |
- Murakami-Suzuki, Rie, et al.
(författare)
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The Collection and Recycling Systems of Used Mobile Phone in European Countries and Japan
- 2010
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In Japan, used mobile phones are collected through several voluntary projects. In European countries, on the other hand, used mobile phones are handled together with other electronic waste in mandatory EPR systems and municipalities collect most of them as recyclable wastes. In this study, we focused on the role of producers and municipalities. We seek to conduct a comparative analysis of current voluntary projects in Japan and mandatory systems in selected European countries to provide insights on the development of environmentally sound management and appropriate collection and recycling systems of used mobile phones.
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| 16. |
- Tojo, Naoko, et al.
(författare)
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The Collection and Recycling of Used Mobile Phones: Case studies of selected European Countries
- 2011
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- ‘This study examines the collection and recycling systems in selected countries in Europe – Finland, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom – where such systems are already in place based on legislation. Based on the review of various written sources as well as interviews with stakeholders (manufacturers, producer responsibility organisations, national government officials, distributors/network providers, municipalities, second shops, refurbishers), we seek to map out the concrete operational mechanisms in the five countries and to find out the perception of actors engaged in such operations. In addition, the overall flow of the mobile phones in five countries is presented in the form of a material flow analysis (MFA).
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