90
recovery and recycling companies. The recycling industries receive pieces from
waste pickers and scrap dealers for the installation of new equipment (Franco and
Lange 2011).
Another actor in the reverse logistics process that is typically found in developing countries are the non-governmental organizations (Guarnieri et al. 2016). In
Brazil, the non-governmental organizations act also as a middleman in the process
of reverse logistics, because not always the waste pickers have licences and infrastructure to deal with E-waste. These entities receive several donations from consumers and public and private companies, and then, the E-waste is sorted, refurbished
and also sold to the final consumer or still donated to charitable institutions or
schools by non-governmental organizations (Guarnieri et al. 2016).
The study of the United Nations Environment Programme (2009) states that
E-waste does not seem to be a high priority for the industry association representing
most of the information and communication technologies producing or assembling
industries. In addition, an E-waste system with an additional recycling fee seems to
be very unpopular, as the Brazilian tax system already puts high burdens on
producers and consumers (United Nations Environment Programme 2009). This
situation seems to be changing after the sanction of the Brazilian Policy of Waste
Management, in 2010.
This policy introduces the principle of ‘shared responsibility’, involving producers, importers, retailers, government and final consumer to implement reverse logistics of E-waste, based on the ‘polluter pays’ principle (Brazil 2010). In Brazil, the
Policy of Waste Management was a legal milestone for waste management, including E-waste and its components (Campos 2014).
This legal instrument to put in practise the principle of shared responsibility and
the implementation of reverse logistics is the ‘sectoral agreements’ (Brazil 2010).
However, the sectoral agreement of E-waste is still in negotiation; the government
received proposals considering the call from the Ministry of Environment in 2013,
which establishes the demand to return 17% of all electronics traded (Brazil 2013).
The formalization of the law through the sectorial agreement has been postponed
due to the difficulty in establishing responsibilities for reverse logistics activities
(Ghisolfi et al. 2017). Consequently, their formalization in E-waste recovery process
is still slow. The absence of bargaining power is a critical factor to ensure the
effective inclusion of waste pickers’ informal E-waste management.
Guarnieri et al. (2016) studied the structuration of the problem of Brazilian sectoral agreement of E-waste, using a structured methodology called Strategic Options
and Development Analysis. The authors identified conflicting viewpoints of some
stakeholders of the supply chain of electronics related to the implementation of
reverse logistics and found some actions that need to be developed in terms of strategic, environmental, economic and social issues.
In addition, Caiado et al. (2017) studied the perspectives to implement the concept of reverse logistics credits in the context of E-waste management in Brazil. The
reverse logistics credits were compared to carbon credits, and the authors found,
according to the opinion of some stakeholders of the electronics supply chain, that
Brazilian reverse logistics credits market still does not have any legal support to
P. Guarnieri et al.
recovery and recycling companies. The recycling industries receive pieces from
waste pickers and scrap dealers for the installation of new equipment (Franco and
Lange 2011).
Another actor in the reverse logistics process that is typically found in developing countries are the non-governmental organizations (Guarnieri et al. 2016). In
Brazil, the non-governmental organizations act also as a middleman in the process
of reverse logistics, because not always the waste pickers have licences and infrastructure to deal with E-waste. These entities receive several donations from consumers and public and private companies, and then, the E-waste is sorted, refurbished
and also sold to the final consumer or still donated to charitable institutions or
schools by non-governmental organizations (Guarnieri et al. 2016).
The study of the United Nations Environment Programme (2009) states that
E-waste does not seem to be a high priority for the industry association representing
most of the information and communication technologies producing or assembling
industries. In addition, an E-waste system with an additional recycling fee seems to
be very unpopular, as the Brazilian tax system already puts high burdens on
producers and consumers (United Nations Environment Programme 2009). This
situation seems to be changing after the sanction of the Brazilian Policy of Waste
Management, in 2010.
This policy introduces the principle of ‘shared responsibility’, involving producers, importers, retailers, government and final consumer to implement reverse logistics of E-waste, based on the ‘polluter pays’ principle (Brazil 2010). In Brazil, the
Policy of Waste Management was a legal milestone for waste management, including E-waste and its components (Campos 2014).
This legal instrument to put in practise the principle of shared responsibility and
the implementation of reverse logistics is the ‘sectoral agreements’ (Brazil 2010).
However, the sectoral agreement of E-waste is still in negotiation; the government
received proposals considering the call from the Ministry of Environment in 2013,
which establishes the demand to return 17% of all electronics traded (Brazil 2013).
The formalization of the law through the sectorial agreement has been postponed
due to the difficulty in establishing responsibilities for reverse logistics activities
(Ghisolfi et al. 2017). Consequently, their formalization in E-waste recovery process
is still slow. The absence of bargaining power is a critical factor to ensure the
effective inclusion of waste pickers’ informal E-waste management.
Guarnieri et al. (2016) studied the structuration of the problem of Brazilian sectoral agreement of E-waste, using a structured methodology called Strategic Options
and Development Analysis. The authors identified conflicting viewpoints of some
stakeholders of the supply chain of electronics related to the implementation of
reverse logistics and found some actions that need to be developed in terms of strategic, environmental, economic and social issues.
In addition, Caiado et al. (2017) studied the perspectives to implement the concept of reverse logistics credits in the context of E-waste management in Brazil. The
reverse logistics credits were compared to carbon credits, and the authors found,
according to the opinion of some stakeholders of the electronics supply chain, that
Brazilian reverse logistics credits market still does not have any legal support to
P. Guarnieri et al.