Waste Crime - Waste Risks: Gaps in Meeting the Global Waste Challenge

A third, more informal, way to collect and trade in discarded elec- tronics is via the Internet, which is becoming increasingly impor- tant in the e-waste sector (Bisschop 2012). A variety of websites offer cash for old devices. Many of them also offer to give the money to a charity of the consumer´s choice. Both companies and individuals offer second-hand electronics for sale and sometimes even for free. Scrap metal dealers (operating both physically and virtually) can act as intermediaries in the collection of e-waste. Websites that offer second-hand goods, including electronics, for sale (e.g., Craigslist, Marketplace, Kapaza, Alibaba, ScrapMetal- Forum, Ebay, etc.) are common and widespread. Large quantities of scrap electronic goods, such as old computers, circuit boards, printers, and phones, are offered via the Internet. E-waste destination The growing amount of e-waste encourages the establishment of small and artisan informal recycling businesses with very basic health, environmental, and safety standards in the coun- tries of destination. At times, recycling can be carried out in domestic premises. Some governments are working towards more systematic and regulated methods of collecting obsolete electronics and appliances, but organized and safe recycling remains at a very early stage.

Since 2000, the Chinese government has banned the import of e-waste and managed to agree on important pieces of national legislation 13 that stipulate collection through multiple chan- nels and recycling of WEEE at licensed recycling enterprises. China has enacted a nationwide recycling system for obsolete electronics supplied by domestic and illegally imported WEEE. In China, there are about 130 registered enterprises recy- cling e-waste. However, not all of them have received all the necessary treatment licences, indicating that they have not met required technical and environmental standards (Wang et al. 2013). The collection and recycling of e-waste in China are partly carried out by informal actors. They are not regis- tered with the state, so their numbers are difficult to esti- mate (Wang et al. 2013). However, it is clear that the sector has been able to expand its trading networks incrementally through a variety of players, such as e-waste importers, informal collectors, dealers of secondary materials, and informal recyclers. Hong Kong is regarded as an important e-waste trading hub.

13. Regulations on Recovery Processing of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products. Unofficial English translation available from: http://www.chin- arohs.com/chinaweee-decree551.pdf

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