Handling Electronic Waste Flows: On the Effectiveness of Producer Responsibility in a Globalizing World

CentER Discussion Paper Series No. 2009-74

43 Pages Posted: 22 Sep 2009

See all articles by Bastiaan Zoeteman

Bastiaan Zoeteman

Tilburg University - Center for Economic Research (CentER)

H. R. Krikke

Tilburg University - Tilburg University School of Economics and Management

Jan Venselaar

Avans University

Date Written: September 13, 2009

Abstract

This paper estimates the magnitude of worldwide Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) flows and assesses the impact of policies such as extended producer responsibility on future global WEEE flows. Local disposal is still common practice in the USA, while increasing quantities are exported from the USA, the EU and Japan to China and India. Once local dumping under controled conditions is reduced in developed regions in favour of exporting WEEE to regions with less strict environmental legislation, such as West Africa, this will create locally a serious threat for the environment and public health. Material recycling in a globalized economy is a new development, enforced by many governments and strongly promoted in the EU. Although material recycling is to be preferred over export and dumping, further developments in waste recycling, such as regional high level recovery, are the challenge from a sustainable development point of view

Keywords: WEEE, EPR, quantified waste flows, closed-loop regional recovery, globalization

JEL Classification: Q53

Suggested Citation

Zoeteman, Bastiaan and Krikke, H. R. R. and Venselaar, Jan, Handling Electronic Waste Flows: On the Effectiveness of Producer Responsibility in a Globalizing World (September 13, 2009). CentER Discussion Paper Series No. 2009-74, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1476332 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1476332

Bastiaan Zoeteman (Contact Author)

Tilburg University - Center for Economic Research (CentER) ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands

H. R. R. Krikke

Tilburg University - Tilburg University School of Economics and Management ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands

Jan Venselaar

Avans University ( email )

Professor Cobbenhagenlaan 13
Tilburg
Netherlands

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