Abstract
China is one of the largest e-waste dumping sites in the world, and Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous territory in China, is also affected by illegal e-waste disposal and transfer. While the Chinese government implemented a waste import ban in January 2018, Hong Kong has not enforced Chinese policies under the “One Country, Two Systems” framework. Drawing on a policy network approach, this paper provides an explanatory framework for e-waste governance in Hong Kong and China, and identifies the major obstacles to shaping effective transboundary e-waste control and prevention. The paper argues that institutional arrangements play a dominant role in governing e-waste policy networks at the local level of governance in Hong Kong and China; however, a lack of accountability and capacity at the transboundary level can explain the different waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) management strategies in these two places.
Highlights
In the case of Hong Kong, both the Customs and Excise Department and the Environment Bureau are the main authorities for managing Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and implemented regulations on controlling discarded electric equipment
The former is responsible for controlling the illegal import of electronic equipment, while the latter, along with its subordinate department, the Environmental Protection Department, is responsible for setting regulations on controlling WEEE disposal and treatment, and for establishing WEEE collection and recycling treatment facilities
The Environmental Protection Department collaborates with the Customs and Excise Department to conduct spot-checks of waste consignments at import and export control points for the prevention of illegal WEEE shipments [41]
Summary
The neoliberal trade in the globalized world and the transboundary movement of electronic waste has led to negative impacts on the environment and human health. Valuable materials such as copper and gold have become a major source of income to developing countries, and studies have found that the trade of electronic waste occurs from developed countries to developing countries with lax regulations, such as China [3]. 350 million tonnes of electronic waste have been imported to China from different part of the world in the last four decades [5] In light of this information, the Chinese government suspended the import of electronic waste in 2000 [6]. The central government implemented regulations to ban import waste in 2018 [7]
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