19 - Improving sustainability of E-waste management through the systemic design of solutions: the cases of Colombia and Ecuador

Abstract

The rapid increase in consumption of electronic devices, coupled with the low development of effective regulatory frameworks, the missing engagement of the stakeholders, as well as the lack of awareness of consumers and widespread informal recycling activities have been identified as the main challenges for a sustainable management of Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment WEEE or E-waste in developing countries. To tackle this situation, policymakers often take a simplistic approach focusing only on technical and economic aspects, while overlooking the interests of all stakeholders and the causality of the phenomenon. In contrast, many developed countries have implemented legislation incorporating the principle of extended producer responsibility, which requires a firm engagement of relevant actors to achieve effective cooperation. This chapter describes a systemic design methodology which ensures high-level involvement of all pertinent actors. It was successfully applied for the development of the national policy for WEEE management in Colombia (2014–16) and for identifying solutions shaped in a participatory process in Ecuador (2018).