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Moving E-Waste Management into the 21st Century: Protecting Health and Wealth from the Dangers of Electronic Waste

Thesis advisor: Michael Cermak / Electronic waste (e-waste) is being generated faster than ever, threatening the health of people at home and abroad. This paper advocates for improvements in e-waste management that increase environmental protection in innovative ways that also benefit workers. It reviews what is being done around the world in response to the problem and then introduces suggestions on how public and private actors can cooperate to achieve better results, particularly within the United States. The paper begins by examining the successes and failures of extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations in Europe, the United States, China, and Japan. It then goes on to advocate for a system combining EPR with a refundable deposit to encourage consumer-driven increases in return rates. If people could receive five to ten dollars for recycling their old cell phone or laptop, far fewer would end up in landfills. The paper culminates with an examination of how the idea of “green-collar jobs” can apply to ewaste management. It examines non-college training programs to prepare people to work in this industry and bring them out of poverty. Several reports have discussed the e-waste issue and its policy implications but this will be the first that brings in the labor aspect. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: International Studies Honors Program. / Discipline: International Studies.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:BOSTON/oai:dlib.bc.edu:bc-ir_102219
Date January 2009
CreatorsMcIntire, Ian C.
PublisherBoston College
Source SetsBoston College
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeText, thesis
Formatelectronic, application/pdf
RightsCopyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted.

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