Page 48 from: October 2014

48 October 2014

The so-called three ‘Es’ of energy, electronics and environment are the most important
driving forces behind the emerging Asian econ-

omies. Modern life’s increased dependence on

electrical and electronic products has resulted

in the generation of huge volumes of e-scrap

because, very often, replacement of new prod-

ucts makes life much easier than repair and

reuse. In addition, some advances in technol-

ogy can serve to shorten a product’s lifespan.

E-scrap is an important source of secondary raw

materials if handled properly. If not, it is a seri-

ous threat to the environment and to the health

and safety of millions of people; in addition,

valuable secondary raw materials go to waste.

Therefore, e-scrap is at once a threat and a huge

opportunity. Indeed, most of the e-scrap that

ends up in non-OECD countries offers no trace-

ability and accountability with regard to its

lifecycle.

Dominant informal sector
In Asia, some 95% of e-scrap is handled by the

informal sector and only about 5% by the for-

mal sector. Businesses in the unregulated,

profit-driven, informal e-scrap recycling sector

are comprised almost entirely of private, back-

yard workshops. But strange as it may sound,

the informal collection system is well-struc-

tured and sources material from individual

consumers across every community and city.

The operators of these systems are flexible with

regard to working hours and locations, and

they pay reasonable prices to consumers while,

in return, taking care of all transportation costs.

It is a profitable business in which valuable

materials are recovered and reused, and also in

which products are refurbished. Moreover, the

lower labour costs in most developing nations

makes this time-intensive e-scrap recycling

industry both viable and competitive.

Unfortunately, most of the companies in the

informal sector use often-primitive recycling

techniques such as acid leaching, burning,

melting and manual breaking to separate and

recover certain valuables.

Unsophisticated processing
Such unregulated and risky processing has

resulted in health, safety and environmental

problems, as well as the wasting of resources and

the deterioration of air, water and soil quality. As

a result of the use of unsophisticated processing

techniques, hazardous substances such as lead,

mercury and dioxins are released into the envi-

ronment and damage workers’ health, while at

the same time leading to huge losses of natural

resources which cannot be compensated.

A lack of awareness and of relevant knowledge

result in informal sector companies adhering to

conventional forms of processing. Refurbishment

and resale activities can result in serious threats

to data security, information leakage, the copying

of designs and secrets falling into the wrong

hands, all of which pose a threat to stakeholders.

The continuing dominance of informal players

in the e-scrap recycling sector results from loop-

holes in regulatory systems and lack of enforce-

ment which impairs traceability and account-

ability, threatens the protection of intellectual

property and, perhaps even more importantly,

gives rise to women/child labour issues and

social unrest. Indeed, a number of epidemio-

logical studies have been conducted into the

E – s c r a p By Venkatesha Murthy

Global e-scrap volumes are projected to
reach 65 million tonnes per year by 2017.

With the exceptions of Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, Asia’s e-scrap

market is complicated, difficult and diffuse. For progress to be made

on recycling, it will be important to engage the informal sector and

find a win-win solution that brings together all the stakeholders and

promotes a sustainable, environmentally-friendly approach through

shared responsibility.

Solving Asia’s
e-scrap conundrum

RI8-Asia e-scrap.indd 48 06-10-14 14:06