Electronic waste is the fastest growing waste stream worldwide. Illegal methods of transport, indifference in legislative response, and public ignorance of what to do in response, all influence e-waste proliferation. This dirty industry of e-waste is hazardous to human health and well-being as well as the environment. Since this dirty industry has ballooned over the last few decades, two major questions arise: What are the primary and secondary factors that influence the proliferation of e-waste dumping in developing countries; and what structures are emerging to combat the e-waste problem in developing countries in Africa? The following pages will investigate the e-waste problem in Africa; Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa. I will show the role that small and medium industries play in managing the e-waste problem. Through a mass media search of key SMEs and organizations, I find that local enterprises are taking on an extended responsibility to find economic incentives in the e-waste industry and transform it from a vastly hazardous waste stream to a cooperative trade and flourishing industry. The results of these case studies illuminate how lax government regulation and involvement forces smaller businesses and organizations to emerge as the leaders in e-waste management.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:pdx.edu/oai:pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu:open_access_etds-5900 |
| Date | 06 March 2019 |
| Creators | Wideman, Brittany Nicole |
| Publisher | PDXScholar |
| Source Sets | Portland State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Dissertations and Theses |
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