Pickren, G. (2015). Making connections between global production networks for used goods and the realm of production: a case study on e-waste governance. Global Networks, 15(4), 403-423. (Will)

From Digital Culture & Society

Jump to: navigation, search

Will Provencher

[edit] Covering this Article

What’s interesting about Pickren’s article lies within the title: e-waste governance. There has to be some level of regulation when it comes to electronic waste, and he discusses it well on the political and industrial sides of the playing field. He talks quite a bit about recycling and ensuring that technological products are recycled well. That’s the basis of this article – recycling and how it affects politics, economics and society itself. Global production networks (GPNs) are involved in four steps of the manufacturing industry: production, exchange, consumption, and disposal. What strikes me as fascinating is how it can be so poorly executed. It is a known fact in today’s world that e-waste is handled very poorly, and the way it’s carried out by governments is just as poor. The thing that’s of error here is finding the value in old materials, such as electronics that have been used but are not completely finished with yet. That is all part of the governance of e-waste. Recyclers are always looking to find products or materials that can be used again entirely or broken down as parts or basic elements to be used once more. Finding reusable parts has become a much harder task as the years go by, and the article states that it’s because of the problems that arise with supposed upgradeability. The ability to take a product and modify parts has always been something that’s a bonus when it comes to technology. Modular parts are what make for some products that can last a lifetime, and it leads to people hanging on to the very things they thought couldn’t possibly work anymore. A few years ago, it was something customers could still do, and it made the people very happy. All the while, the companies that pushed these products out realized that they couldn’t sell more if people would never let go of their older gadgets. Seeing this as a weakness but also an opportunity, there was a wave where companies would have their products become un-upgradeable, which would in turn make some products obsolete quicker, which started accelerated planned obsolescence.

Pickren’s talk on what he refers to as “finding value in e-waste” is certainly compelling. If more companies were open to upgradeability within current devices, it would immediately pay dividends for society and the environment. As we all know, the mismanagement of electronics can be deadly. The toxins and chemicals released into the atmosphere from metals and different elements used in tech parts is a damning issue. People’s lives are at stake when it comes to e-waste. From an economic standpoint, businesses are out there to make business, and it makes sense. When it comes to society, it’s an entire different story. People are endlessly trying to get that product that fits their bill – they want to be exactly in the middle of the public sphere of popularity, and a brand-new tech product can do that. What happens to the old-age product is what Pickren aims to find use out of. He says that e-waste is an economic object, and I couldn’t agree more. It’s merely an economic product through which people constantly buy and then throw out what they previously had. Finding use out of older products can certainly be tough, and Pickren believes that there should be a better sense of governance when it comes to the tech turned scrap that is constantly being misplaced. The higher-ups in first world countries should be doing a better job at managing what is being tossed out because it hits the lives of unsuspecting people. No one deserves to have unwanted garbage dumped on them, but the unfortunate reality is that it just keeps coming. Recyclers in today’s world are having a tougher time finding value out of older parts, and it’s sad to see. Renewability and sustainability are two important factors to keeping our collective heads above water, or in this case, above heaps of e-waste. Planned obsolescence has certainly done its part, changing consumer habits for the worse and ultimately creating this epidemic in the first place. There may not be a light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s certainly worthwhile to see what can be done to contain the issue.

Reference: Pickren, G. (2015). Making connections between global production networks for used goods and the realm of production: a case study on e-waste governance. Global Networks, 15(4), 403-423.

Link: https://proxy.library.brocku.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=109364588&site=eds-live&scope=site

Personal tools
Bookmark and Share