The e-waste development cycle, part iii-policy & legislation, business & finance, and technologies & skills

Abstract

This chapter is the third of four chapters covering the e-waste development cycle. Based on the e-waste development cycle approach and country status of Chapter 2 and the structured impact assessment and factual basis of Chapter 3, this Chapter 4 forms the heart of the policy development process. Development of take-back systems is a time-consuming and complex process. An iterative approach is recommended due to the heterogeneous character of e-waste, its quickly changing material compositions and economic values, combined with different cultural and socioeconomic conditions and organizational and technical capabilities. The chapter provides many possible interventions and experiences in the domains of Policy and Legislation, Business and Finance and Technologies and Skills useful for countries starting their e-waste policies, those with systems in place, and established countries with many years of experience. In all cases, the "à la carte” action-based approach provides an overview of experiences and background information to enable the later selection of key interventions that depend on the different needs and development stages of countries. The listing of all intervention options in turn forms the input for a coherent and feasible national action plan for practical and successful implementation as described in Chapter 5.