Dias, P., Machado, A., Huda, N.,

From Digital Culture & Society

Contents 1 Introduction 2 The State of Brazilian Policies 3 Methodology 4 Results 5 Discussion

[edit] Introduction

The analysis of foreign countrys’ abilities to recycle electronic waste assesses how far humanity has come. In order to maintain the prosperity of our planet, effective recycling techniques must be adopted. This study done by Dias, Machado, and Huda looked to analyze the effectiveness of the Brazilian electronic recycling techniques adopted. The issue with electronic recycling practices in non-developed countries are the hazardous materials that reside within electronic equipment. These hazardous materials include: Cadmium, Mercury, Chrome, Silver, and chrome. The disposal of these materials have a risk of contaminating nearby water and soil. The risk is increased annually through the increase by about 3-5% of waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) globally. This increase makes it difficult for developing countries to adapt. The researchers were effective in outlining the difficulties that developing nations' (specifically Brazil) under-go in this difficult process. The following sections outline their effective research and techniques in relation to the difficulties of recycling waste electronic and electronic equipment.

[edit] The State of Brazilian Policies

In 2010 it was evident Brazil was faced with an issue. This issue was that too many companies had been importing hazardous waste in exchange for a monetary bonus. The 2010 Brazilian Policy of Solid Waste prohibited the import of hazardous materials into the country. This policy attempted to stop the import of dangerous materials, but it could not thwart domestically produced electronic waste material. One of the main concerns for the recycling industry is the inability to separate end of life (EOL) products and other waste. This problem stems from the lack of research and technology in this sector. This lack of research as well extends to the fact that recycling printed circuit boards and the cathode tube rays is a difficult process which the informal Brazilian e-waste sector has yet to accomplish. R and D is a concept for the developed nations of the world. Research is a long term investment typically driven by profitability. This study recognized the idea that under-developed nations do not have the capital, or the governmental intervention to fund research which would benefit the economy/environment as a whole. The article failed to recognize the reasoning for the under-funding the e-waste sector receives in Brazil, which is crucial aspect doe understanding the hardships of recycling electronic waste. The researchers, although not effective in their explanation for the under-funding, effectively captured the bi-products of the lack of capital directed toward this sector.

[edit] Methodology

In order to map out the effectiveness of the Brazilian E-waste sector, this study used what is called a ‘map distribution’ which located the amount and distribution of the E-waste. In order to accurately plot the map, the researchers contacted the government bodies which were responsible for the regulation and monitoring of the E-waste sites. The issue with this method was the fact that E-waste sector in Brazil is not regulated as well as first world countries. The Brazilian government gave a list of E-waste recyclers to the researchers which was proven to be fairly incomplete. Upon receiving a list of electronic waste recyclers, the researchers visited five of the WEEE sites. The analysis of the sites was guided through a series of questions. The questions asked: how the sites received the WEEE, how the sites processed the WEEE, and what is the final destination of the electronic waste. The second technique used to gather information for this study was the dissemination of a survey that looked to assess the effectiveness of the facilities. This technique will not yield and accurate response as the companies are more than likely to present a favorable representation of their facility. The survey comprised of 8 questions which looked to evaluate how environmentally friendly the facilities were. Attached is the questionnaire as it was disseminated. Out of the 134 companies who received this survey, 58 responded accordingly. The issue with this method of collecting research was mentioned before. Especially on an issue such as environmentalism, companies are likely to ‘stretch the truth’ in order to give the impression that their company is being environmentally responsible. One way this could have been avoided would have been to maintain facility anonymity in order to likely generate a truthful and accurate response. the article was effective in communicating the techniques used to gather this research. the article used simple language and effective grammar is order to simplify the challenging ways in which they received their research. It was clear that the results they generated from their techniques gave confusing data whether it be the non-conforming way in which the un-regulated sector responded to their surveys or the lack of government assistance they received. The researchers were successful in translating their data into a legible article that was simple to analyze.

[edit] Results

Contacting the Brazilian government regarding the quantity of E-waste facilities found that 276 sites were operating within the country that dealt with general waste. Only 7% of these companies are responsible for the recycling/managing of WEEE according to the government. Through the researchers methodology, it was discovered that 61 ‘companies’ currently operate in Brazil that recycle waste electronic and electronic equipment unbeknownst to the government. This means that 67% of the companies that deal with the dangers of electronic waste are not regulated or have any safety/environmental quotas. The term used to describe these ‘free’ recyclers was ‘clandestine’. The clandestine recyclers are those who do not have to answer to a higher authority to due to their operations tendency to operate ‘below the radar’. Governmental policies do not affect these recyclers because the government simply does not know these facilities exist. These informal recycling practices have major implications on the health and safety of both the employees who work at these locations, and the surrounding ecosystems. The completed surveys indicated that 81% of the waste electronic and electric equipment recyclers import their waste from non-Brazilian companies. This was an interesting finding as the current Brazilian legislation has deemed it illegal to import WEEE into the country. This proves how effective the Brazilian authorities have been in enforcing this legislation. The studies done on the visited recycling plants found that the dismantling process is what is focused on. What was as well discovered was that the breaking down of more complex parts such as: printed circuit boards, computer memories, processors, and coolers are exported to countries such as: Canada, U.S.A, Japan, and Germany. As previously discussed, an issue with the Brazilian electronic waste sector is the lack of research and development required to disassemble such complex parts.

[edit] Discussion

The data gathering method for this study was not ideal. The way in which the researchers could have retrieved more accurate and truthful responses would be to visit the sites themselves. A survey filled out by a company will contain bias. This bias is due to the fact that the surveys were not disclosed as anonymous to the companies. One of the main issues in the recycling sector in Brazil in the lack of funding and research. It was disclosed in the study that the monetary ecosystem of Brazil could only support five main waste electronic and electric equipment companies, if the market was divided in five equal parts. The lack of regulation in this sector brings upon many ethical concerns environmentally. Lack of supervision causes companies to take shortcuts when it comes to environmental consideration. Profits are what drives companies, the care for the employees and the environment takes secondary in the hierarchy of importance. The discussion section of this article was successful in highlighting the main reasons for the existence of the 'informal' recycling sector. Although the researchers failed to recognize the poor research method of attaining information through surveys, the overall article was highly effective in communicating the methods, results, and challenges they came across while doing this research.