Informal E-Waste Flows in Montréal: Implications for Extended Producer Responsibility and Circularity

• Published in: Environmental management (New York) Vol. 72; no. 5; pp. 1032 - 1049
• Main Authors: Leclerc, Stéphanie H., Badami, Madhav G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.11.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Circularity; Documentation; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Economic impact; Electronic Waste; Environment; Environmental impact; Environmental Management; Forestry Management; Garbage collection; Incentives; Nature Conservation; Policies; Radar; Recycling; Waste Management; Waste Water Technology; Wastes; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; E-waste; Circular economy; Stakeholder analysis; Extended producer responsibility; Informality; Just transition
• ISSN: 0364-152X; 1432-1009
• DOI: 10.1007/s00267-023-01857-2

Environmental agencies around the world have adopted policies to manage e-waste and reduce the negative environmental impacts associated with its collection, sorting, dismantling, and recycling. In many OECD countries, where adequate policies and processing technologies exist, those who manage extended producer responsibility programs claim performance challenges due to competition from various actors collecting and managing e-waste “under the radar”. While the material and economic losses attributed to such informal activities have been estimated by previous research, a detailed understanding of who is involved in these activities, why and how they operate, and with what social and environmental impacts, is often lacking. Our research offers an in-depth investigation into Montréal’s informal e-waste flows. Whereas e-waste research and advocacy posit a dichotomy between “formal” and “informal” e-waste flows, our research reveals a more nuanced situation, with no water-tight separation between these flows. Formal and informal flows are often blurred, and change over time; and many actors are involved in both formal and informal activities. We reveal mechanisms whereby actors inadvertently contribute to informal activities because of inadequate incentives, limited program scope, reuse, parts harvesting, and documentation issues. This nuanced understanding helps identify policy loopholes, program shortcomings, and strategies for more sustainable e-waste flows, taking account of more ambitious circularity objectives and a just transition.