Exploring the potential for formalising the informal e-waste sector in South Africa

Abstract

E-waste is rapidly growing in South Africa without the required e-waste management system in place to manage this growth. There, therefore, exists a need to improve the e-waste management system of South Africa. The aim of the study is to motivate the importance of and explore the benefits of utilising the informal e-waste sector through formalisation. The aim is further to determine the willingness of the formal e-waste sector to be a part of the formalisation process and identify the accompanying key considerations. The biggest challenge that faces the South African formal e-waste sector is the limited e-waste volumes that e-waste recycling facilities are able to collect to sustain their operations. Currently, the informal e-waste sector plays a significant role in e-waste collection within the e-waste management system. The informal e-waste sector is not formally a part of the e-waste management system, making it difficult to manage and improve the system. Also, the informal e-waste sector is associated with a myriad of safety, health, and labour concerns. It could be argued that formalising the informal e-waste sector by drawing it closer to the formal e-waste sector could address many of these challenges. Formalising is, however, complicated. To overcome this challenge, a better understanding is required. Therefore, the research questions and objectives explore the current state and potential of the informal e-waste sector by considering the formal e-waste sector's perceptions and experiences of the current state and the potential for formalisation. The research methodology uses a research design and context to explain the mindset behind the study, the chosen data collection method, and the setting. Literature is used to understand the context, circumstances, potential, challenges, and opportunities of both the formal and informal e-waste sectors, locally and internationally, and the relationship between these two e-waste sectors. Data is collected to explore the willingness of the formal e-waste sector to be a part of the formalisation process. Data was collected through qualitative interviews with 12 participants from the formal e-waste sector of South Africa. The participants were asked a series of questions to obtain their perception of which activities take place within the e-waste management system, the relationship between the two e-waste sectors, opportunities and challenges for e-waste collection, the potential for improvement opportunities and formalisation, and key considerations for a sustainable e-waste management system. The data analysis process clustered views and evidence, noting emergent codes while comparing these codes across the interviews to identify themes to build a logical argument. The findings provide insight into various elements of the e-waste management system and are used to provide recommendations for future work to be considered if a formalisation approach is chosen in the future. Seven main themes emerged from the data analysis that can inform future work that considers the development of a formalisation framework. The themes are 1) Formal collection trade-offs; 2) Overcoming formal e-waste sector gaps; 3) E-waste legislative development; 4) Lack of e-waste awareness from different stakeholders; 5) Formal e-waste recycling facilities concerns; 6) Reflection of social factors; and 7) Formalisation requirements and success factors. The conclusion of the study shows that there is a significant difference between the formal and informal e-waste sectors on various levels. This is seen through education, level of income, regulation compliancy, and recycling methods. These differences lead to competition between the two e-waste sectors, wasted resources, and counter-productivity to optimally collect e-waste. Yet, each e-waste sector is important and plays a unique part in the e-waste management system. Stakeholder engagement is crucial for big changes like formalisation. Even though the formal e-waste sector has not been approached in previous e-waste studies, there proves to be a willingness to be a part of the formalisation process if their perceptions and experiences are considered. There is potential to remove the challenges currently faced between the two e-waste sectors with the correct formalisation approach. It is recommended that the formal and informal e-waste sectors be integrated through an incremental and continuous formalisation process that is adaptable and flexible. A sustainable and applicable formalisation framework must be developed by the key stakeholders within the e-waste management system. If the challenges of formalisation can be overcome, it will be mutually beneficial for both e-waste sectors. The key challenges include acquiring initial financial and legislative support from the government, deciding which formalisation approach is best suitable for South Africa, establishing a sustainable relationship between the two e-waste sectors, and ensuring that formalisation does not negatively impact the reputation of formal e-waste recycling facilities. Contrarily, the benefits for the informal e-waste sector include better, stable working conditions, monetary incentives, and increased income. The benefits for the formal e-waste sector include higher volumes of e-waste collected and overcoming production gaps.