Date of Award
Spring 2017
Degree
M.S. in Environmental Policy
Advisor
Professor Monique Segarra
Second Reader
Professor Eban Goodstein
Third Reader
Professor Caroline Ramaley
Abstract
Information technology has proliferated over the past two decades, and waste from electronics represents the fastest growing waste stream in the world. The production and disposal of electronics, from cradle to grave, pose critical threats to human health and the environment. The management of electronic, or e-waste, streams poses a particular set of challenges for solid waste management, hazardous waste management, and economic development in the United States. As e-waste accumulates, state governments, municipalities and private landfills are refusing to accept the responsibility for its disposal. To address this problem, the federal and state governments must find a safe and economically feasible way to process e-waste. This thesis analyzes the lessons learned from both the European Union’s e-waste programs and from a set of US e-waste cases. These range from state-led e-waste programs to manufacturer-led and voluntary e-waste programs. Based on this comparative case method, a set of key barriers emerge in the US cases that undermine e-waste management policies: the perception that US manufacturers will recycle electronic products properly, the power of the electronics industry to block policies, the lack of public consumer education about the environmental consequences of e-waste disposal, and the fact that recycling e-waste is more expensive than extracting raw materials. These factors reflect political and socio-economic realities within the US, including the power of the electronics industry, the perceived capacity of municipal solid waste systems, and the salience and the perception of consumers that US federal laws appropriately manage e-waste disposal. Part of the issue is that e-waste falls into regulatory gaps across major waste management federal laws. This thesis argues that state-led e-waste management policies are not adequate because of the lack of cooperation from all e-waste stakeholders from the federal government, state government, electronics industry, third party processors, and consumers.
Access Control
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Westgate, Ashley Elizabeth, "State-Led Approaches to Electronic Waste Management in the U.S.: A Study of Stakeholder Involvement in Take-Back Legislation Efficiency" (2017). Bard Center for Environmental Policy. 3.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/bcep/3
Included in
Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons, Electrical and Electronics Commons, Environmental Policy Commons, Operations and Supply Chain Management Commons, Policy History, Theory, and Methods Commons, Science and Technology Policy Commons