Towards Holistic Governance of China’s E-Waste Recycling: Evolution of Networked Policies

Abstract

Electronic products are being updated and replaced much faster and there is therefore an increasing growth in electronic waste (e-waste). In order to promote professional recycling of e-waste, the relevant government departments of China have published a series of policies. This paper aims to unearth the evolution tendency of the networked policies towards holistic governance of China’s e-waste recycling. Content analysis, quantitative text analysis and network analysis are applied to analyze relevant policy documents from 2001 to 2016. This paper illustrates evolution of policy themes, evolution of intergovernmental relationships, and evolution of policy relations. This study reveals policy intentions, maps policy progress, and unearths governance philosophy, providing an overall understanding of the policy ways by which the Chinese government has deployed its guiding strategies on professional recycling of e-waste. This paper illustrates how to approach holistic governance from perspective of networked policies, contributing to answering the central question of holistic governance about how to achieve it.

Managing e-waste from a closed-loop lifecycle perspective: China’s challenges and fund policy redesign

“…Due to the uniqueness of the fund policy, research interest in China’s e-waste management has increased significantly and developed in the past decade (Li et al 2015 ; Liu et al 2021 ; Zeng et al 2017 ). Existing literature discusses the issue of introducing the fund policy-centred management system and investigating the market responses to it (Cao et al 2016 ; Yang et al 2020 ). In detail, the debate often focuses on how the regulatory regime influences market behaviour or environmental goals, as well as the technical development and economic performance of the e-waste industry (Guo et al 2018 ; Liu et al 2020 ; Tang and Wang 2014 ; Wang et al 2018 ; Zhang et al 2015 ).…”

“…Approximately 54 million tons of e-waste were generated globally in 2019, and it is speculated that this figure will ascend to 74.7 million tons by 2030, with an average annual growth rate of 3-5% (Arya and Kumar 2020;Ilankoon et al 2018). E-waste is an attractive "urban mineral" because it contains various valuable resources such as gold, silver, copper, and other precious metal elements (Ogunniyi et al 2009;Yang et al 2020). It is an environmental contaminant simultaneously because of its embedded heavy metals, flame retardants, and refrigerants that can pose a severe threat to the environment and human health without proper treatment (Sovacool 2019).…”

Organophosphate Esters in Air and Seawater of the South China Sea: Spatial Distribution, Transport, and Air–Sea Exchange

“…The warm temperature in the tropical ocean can enhance the leaching process for organic chemicals from the surrounding buildings and infrastructures, e.g., flame retardants, plasticizers, and waterproof chemicals. The low concentrations of TCEP measured in this work can be attributed to the regulation of TCEP from industrial production and application and to governmental control and reduction for e-waste treatment in China …”

“…The low concentrations of TCEP measured in this work can be attributed to the regulation of TCEP from industrial production and application and to governmental control and reduction for e-waste treatment in China. 32 The mean concentrations of ∑alkyl-OPEs (74 ± 37 pg/m 3 ) are higher than those of ∑Cl-OPEs (55 ± 49 pg/m 3 ) and ∑aryl-OPEs (37 ± 25 pg/m 3 ). This is the first time that we observed ∑alkyl-OPEs exceeding ∑Cl-OPEs in air.…”

The Impact of Public Policies and Civil Society on the Sustainable Behavior of Romanian Consumers of Electrical and Electronic Products

“…The major policy instruments that can stimulate changes in consumer behavior are incentives, bans and mandates, communication, and nudges [11]. Government departments can thus play a guiding role in promoting e-waste recovery and recycling [12] in terms of environmental, social, and corporate performance, bringing about green innovation in enterprises [13], driving circular economy practices pivotal for the sustainable development of renewable energy practices [14], of environmental quality demand for cleaner energy [15], of green finance furthering renewable energy technologies [16], of sustainable organization management [17], and of sustainable development of innovative industrial infrastructures [18]. It is not only governments but also non-governmental organizations that can intervene in informing and educating consumers in this direction.…”