60
of them were submitted to substandard treatment both inside and outside the
European Union.
3.4 Concluding Remarks
In this chapter, we have considered a variety of factors, including legal, statistical,
economic, and organizational factors, that affect the recycling of waste electrical
and electronic equipment or more broadly the recycling of general Electronicwastes in Japan and other countries.
Despite significant efforts on the part of governments at all levels as well as other
stakeholders, collecting, recycling, and processing of Electronic-waste remain to be
a difficult task. Generally, there is a consensus that Electronic-waste continues to
increase as per capita gross domestic product increases. Such increases are significant not only in developed nations but also in developing nations as well. This
necessarily implies that shipping out Electronic-waste out of developed countries to
developing countries is no longer a viable means of Electronic-waste disposal.
These substances that make up the Electronic-waste contain valuable resources,
some of which are toxic and cannot be simply put away for landfills. We summarize
our findings on the aspects of production and waste management systems, broadly
termed environmental management systems, that need to be redesigned in an integrated manner.
1. Design products so as to minimize Electronic-waste while their functions remain
intact. Also, design products so that the ultimate recycling of the products could
be done with ease.
2. Design recycling-related facilities that can efficiently recycle process valuable
metal and other resources.
3. Design a system that allocates the responsibilities among the stakeholders of
Electronic-waste recycling policies based on their respective incentives.
4. Estimating accurately the relevant costs and benefits of alternative methods of
collecting, recycling, and processing of Electronic-waste is important. Then,
how such costs and benefits are to be allocated among the stakeholders consistent with their respective economic incentives is also important.
5. Manufacturing supply chains must be taken into account when Electronicwaste recycling and processing policies are formulated. It is important to
clarify which upstream suppliers are responsible for particular components of
Electronic-waste.
6. Another important policy issue is to decide what the primary objectives of
Electronic- waste recycling are for the nation. Is it to reduce the greenhouse gas
emissions that are emitted in the production process by minimizing the use of
Electronic-waste causing metals and other materials? Or is it simply to reduce
the amounts that go to landfills?
H. Hayami and M. Nakamura
of them were submitted to substandard treatment both inside and outside the
European Union.
3.4 Concluding Remarks
In this chapter, we have considered a variety of factors, including legal, statistical,
economic, and organizational factors, that affect the recycling of waste electrical
and electronic equipment or more broadly the recycling of general Electronicwastes in Japan and other countries.
Despite significant efforts on the part of governments at all levels as well as other
stakeholders, collecting, recycling, and processing of Electronic-waste remain to be
a difficult task. Generally, there is a consensus that Electronic-waste continues to
increase as per capita gross domestic product increases. Such increases are significant not only in developed nations but also in developing nations as well. This
necessarily implies that shipping out Electronic-waste out of developed countries to
developing countries is no longer a viable means of Electronic-waste disposal.
These substances that make up the Electronic-waste contain valuable resources,
some of which are toxic and cannot be simply put away for landfills. We summarize
our findings on the aspects of production and waste management systems, broadly
termed environmental management systems, that need to be redesigned in an integrated manner.
1. Design products so as to minimize Electronic-waste while their functions remain
intact. Also, design products so that the ultimate recycling of the products could
be done with ease.
2. Design recycling-related facilities that can efficiently recycle process valuable
metal and other resources.
3. Design a system that allocates the responsibilities among the stakeholders of
Electronic-waste recycling policies based on their respective incentives.
4. Estimating accurately the relevant costs and benefits of alternative methods of
collecting, recycling, and processing of Electronic-waste is important. Then,
how such costs and benefits are to be allocated among the stakeholders consistent with their respective economic incentives is also important.
5. Manufacturing supply chains must be taken into account when Electronicwaste recycling and processing policies are formulated. It is important to
clarify which upstream suppliers are responsible for particular components of
Electronic-waste.
6. Another important policy issue is to decide what the primary objectives of
Electronic- waste recycling are for the nation. Is it to reduce the greenhouse gas
emissions that are emitted in the production process by minimizing the use of
Electronic-waste causing metals and other materials? Or is it simply to reduce
the amounts that go to landfills?
H. Hayami and M. Nakamura