SUPERVISOR: Christoph GÖRG 

PROJECT ASSIGNED TO: Nora KRENMAYR 

Digitalization is a dominant driver of transformation changing global production networks while impacting national and international socioeconomic power structures. Digitalization and a growing service sector are often regarded not only as important potential contributors to resource efficiency and relative decoupling of gross domestic product (GDP) and resource use but also as harbingers of absolute decoupling, allowing for continued GDP growth while resource use declines. However, so far digitalization has led to increased energy consumption and the prospect of absolute decoupling seems unlikely under current conditions. Moreover, the amount of resources and energy necessary for the production of information and communications technology (ICT) ‘hardware’ and its usage is often underestimated and e-waste is a considerable category in waste management.

Waste from electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) includes discarded computers, monitors, motherboards, mobile phones and chargers, headphones, television sets as well as air conditioners and refrigerators. These appliances contain both toxic chemicals and hazardous pollutants as well as precious metals like gold, silver, iron, aluminum, and copper. Therefore, e-waste recycling poses a unique conundrum of economic incentives and environmental and health hazards. According to the Global E-Waste Monitor (2020) 53.6 megatons of e-waste are produced annually, which is projected to grow to 74.7 megatons by 2030, making it one of the fastest-growing waste streams. Currently, over 80 percent of e-waste flows (44.3 megatons) are not accounted for. The volume of (illegal) transboundary movements of e-waste is estimated to be 7-20 percent. Since 1989 the Basel Convention exists to control transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal. Yet it is unclear whether the convention accurately addresses the bulk of flows amidst changing trade patterns. The problem is often framed in terms of dumping of e-waste by the Global North in countries of the Global South. Such trade does occur, but a more nuanced interpretation of the international trade in e-waste is needed as patterns of trade have evolved markedly over the last decades.  

The data on exported e-waste is limited as they only show estimated flows based on global trade data (Eurostat, COMTRADE) - taking information about the production or sales of new products and making assumptions for device lifetime and prevailing export practices per country. These assumptions rely on qualitative investigation of the geographic routes and exchanges. Yet for illicit trade, shipping containers may bounce from port to port, making it impossible to know which of the thousands of global ports to monitor ahead of time. Further, the existing trade data contains no specific commodity codes related to reuse, repair, refurbishment or, recovery. However, repairing and refurbishing ICT for resale is common practice in the Global South and prolongs the value of the product and materials. Along with disassembly for material recovery, this work provides jobs and income along with cheap access to technology on the second-hand market. In my PhD project I want to look at the dynamics and conflicts concerning the changing international trade flows of e-waste and recycling technologies, systems and regulations in transition. I put a geographical focus on Europe and India, as they present important global players in regard to e-waste and represent both Global North and South.