E-waste management in the United States and its global implications: A case study of personal computers

Quantities of end-of-life electronics (or e-waste) around the world keep growing. More than 1.36 million metric tons of e-waste were discarded, mainly in landfills, in the U.S. in 2005, and e-waste is projected to grow in the next few years. This study explores issues relating to planning future e-waste regulation and management systems in the U.S. using a case of study of personal computers (PCs). It discusses what specific conditions are expected to influence the acceptability and implementation in the U.S. A key consideration is the cultural imperative in the U.S. for market-driven solutions that enable competition. Given this context, a solution is proposed that is designed to ensure a proper post-consumer option while at the same time establishing a competitive market for reuse and recycling services. The solution is termed e-Market for Returned Deposit. Furthermore, the study analyses the environmental, social and economic domestic and international impacts of the implementation of the proposed design by comparing it with the current or business-as-usual system and hypothetical no exportation to developing countries system, using a case study of PCs. Overall, the e-Market for Returned Deposit had the best environmental, social and economic benefits to the system. In addition, to examine the global implications of the system, the study takes Peru as a case of study by assessing the importation of used PCs in Peru and the domestic practices in their production, reuse and end-of-life processing. Analysis of shipment value (as measured by trade statistics) shows that 87-88 percent of imported used computers had a price higher than the ideal recycle value of constituent materials. The official trade in used computers is thus driven by reuse as opposed to recycling. Finally, the study performed a probabilistic survey in the residential sector of the Peruvian capital to understand the diffusion rate and need of used computers in the sector. The survey indicates that the penetration rate of used computers is low at this time and is closely related to socio-economic levels as the ratio of used versus new computer ownership increases while socio-economic level decreases.