Doctoral Dissertation Research: Electronic Waste Recycling in South Africa: Transition Management in Practice?

博士论文研究：南非的电子废物回收：实践中的转型管理？

• 批准号: 0927837
• 负责人: James Murphy
• 金额: $ 1.2万
• 依托单位: Clark University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-09-15 至 2011-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0927837&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Electronic; Waste

Electronic goods are made of diverse components, including valuable metals and hazardous materials. Tens of millions of tons of electronic waste (e-waste) is produced annually across the globe, but only a small proportion of this e-waste is recycled. While the amount of e-waste continues to rise exponentially as use of electronics grows internationally, recycling costs prohibit widespread recycling in the developed nations of the world, such as the U.S. and Europe. As a result, a global e-waste industry has arisen in which waste is exported into parts of the world like China, India, and some African countries, where illegal dumping and informal recycling occur. Recycling practices in many countries involve the removal of valuable metals, but they employ practices harmful to people and ecosystems. South Africa is pursuing a relatively unexplored approach to e-waste: sustainable recycling. South Africa's e-waste goals are being most progressively advanced through a pilot program in Johannesburg that will charge recycling fees to consumers, with the fee being used to support waste processing enterprises. This doctoral dissertation research project will integrate transition management theory with political ecological perspectives in order to examine the power relations at play in the creation of this industry as well as the potential for this project to be scaled out to other contexts. The doctoral student will use a range of methods, including document analysis; in-depth interviews with stakeholders, such as e-waste processors, policy makers, non-governmental organization officials, and consumers; field observations of formal and informal recycling facilities; and participant observation in planning and strategizing meetings.This project is motivated by the magnitude of the e-waste challenge, the relative impasse over the question of exportation, and the potential for South Africa to forge an innovative pathway for e-waste management. Project results can help inform policy makers about the environmental and ecological consequences of the recycling system as well as the factors in the broader landscape that must be influenced in order to facilitate a successful sociotechnical regime transition. Moreover, documenting the power relations shaping e-waste strategy development and project implementation can help remedy structural inequalities and empower stakeholders like community residents and consumers who may be absent from the decision-making process. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Award, this award will provide support to enable a promising student to establish and strong independent research career.

电子产品由不同的部件制成，包括贵重金属和危险材料。全球每年产生数千万吨电子垃圾，但其中只有一小部分被回收利用。随着国际上电子产品的使用不断增长，电子垃圾的数量继续呈指数级增长，回收成本阻碍了美国和欧洲等发达国家的广泛回收。因此，一个全球性的电子垃圾产业已经兴起，其中垃圾被出口到世界上的一些地方，如中国、印度和一些非洲国家，在那里发生了非法倾倒和非正式回收。许多国家的回收做法涉及去除有价值的金属，但它们采用的做法对人类和生态系统有害。南非正在寻求一种相对未开发的电子垃圾处理方法：可持续回收。南非的电子垃圾目标正在通过约翰内斯堡的一个试点项目逐步推进，该项目将向消费者收取回收费，这笔费用将用于支持废物处理企业。这个博士论文研究项目将把转型管理理论与政治生态观点结合起来，以研究在这个行业创建过程中发挥作用的权力关系，以及这个项目扩展到其他环境的潜力。博士生将使用一系列的方法，包括文献分析；与电子废物处理者、政策制定者、非政府组织官员和消费者等利益相关者进行深入访谈；对正式和非正式回收设施进行实地观察；在计划和战略会议中进行参与性观察。该项目的动机是电子废物挑战的规模，出口问题的相对僵局，以及南非为电子废物管理开辟创新途径的潜力。项目结果可以帮助决策者了解回收系统的环境和生态后果，以及为促进成功的社会技术制度过渡而必须影响的更广泛景观中的因素。此外，记录影响电子废物战略制定和项目实施的权力关系有助于纠正结构性不平等，并赋予可能缺席决策过程的社区居民和消费者等利益相关者权力。作为博士论文研究进步奖，该奖项将为有前途的学生建立强大的独立研究生涯提供支持。