Who is in charge? An analysis of waste electrical and electronic equipment management in Brussels
Notes de la rédaction
This is the press release related to the article from Jean Mansuy, Philippe Lebeau, Sara Verlinde and Cathy Macharis, published on 28 March 2022. Read the article.
Many of us put old mobile phones, chargers and batteries away in a drawer without really knowing what to do with them. Can we just hand them over to the seller of our new device as one does for major appliances? Once they have been exchanged, who is responsible for recycling them and reclaiming the valuable materials they contain? How much waste does old electrical and electronic equipment represent in a city like Brussels? Four researchers from the MOBI research centre at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Jean Mansuy, Philippe Lebeau, Sara Verlinde and Cathy Macharis) reveal how the management of this strategic waste is organised in the 167th issue of Brussels Studies.
In 2019, some 5622 tonnes of electrical and electronic waste were collected in the Brussels-Capital Region. In relation to the local population, these figures correspond to 4,65 kg per inhabitant, which is half the Belgian average. There are several explanations for this surprising finding, including statistical biases between the places where waste is collected (in Brussels) and where it is processed and accounted for (outside the capital), and the complex structure of a sector which has many informal recycling channels. In Belgium, it is estimated that half of the electrical and electronic waste currently escapes the institutional recycling channels. This is because the residual value of this waste is such that many stakeholders are interested in it. In order to better understand this situation, the authors of the article identified all of the stakeholders in the sector, their importance and the relations between them, analysing the flow of products, their dependence on information and financial flows.
The results of this relational analysis reveal the potentially contradictory interests of the stakeholders and the tensions which arise from them. This is due to the existence of a large alternative collection network, the high level of centralisation of the sector, and the lack of awareness of the direct role of consumers and retailers of electrical and electronic items in directing this waste within the recycling and disposal sector. The researchers conclude that there are two ways to better understand these problems. The first approach supports the integration of existing informal networks into the formal waste management system, using incentives rather than coercion wherever possible. The second promotes retailer and resident awareness, through financial and material incentives (e.g. facilitating collection and access to container parks), so as to direct a greater volume of waste to registered treatment channels. In this way, the Region would improve its chances of meeting its 2024 targets of increasing the volumes of electrical and electronic waste collected and prepared-for-reuse by 50 %.
References
Mansuy, J., Philippe, L., Sara, V. and Cathy, M, “Who is in charge? An analysis of waste electrical and electronic equipment management in Brussels”, Brussels Studies [Online], General collection, No 167, 28 March 2022. URL: https://journals.openedition.org/brussels/5990
Contact
Tatiana Debroux, Editor in chief:
tdebroux[at]brusselsstudies.be