Advancing the circular economy in electrical and electronic equipment; exploring preparation for reuse, export for reuse, and the creation of decent work

Steep increases in the consumption and waste generation of electrical and electronic equipment have resulted in a need for legislative solutions that encourage resource efficiency and the protection of human health and the environment when handling and treating these hazardous materials. Understanding how best to implement these solutions is essential to the development of a circular economy. This thesis contains three peer reviewed and published and one under review journal article that address the barriers and facilitators to a successful preparation for reuse system, the export of used equipment for reuse, and labor requirements and job creation potential in the treatment of waste, and develop straightforward methodologies for routine examination of these estimates, finding that: • the most important factors in a successful preparation for reuse system included access to equipment, high quality standards for treatment operators, and positive relationships between operators and compliance schemes, • an estimated 455 metric tons of used professional IT equipment is exported from Ireland for reuse annually, a significant amount in terms of legislative collection targets, • an estimated 17 metric tons of used consumer electrical and electronic equipment is exported from Ireland to West Africa for reuse annually, an amount that is currently insignificant to collection targets but varies greatly from previous estimates, • and that treatment of waste electrical and electronic equipment compliant with the European Union’s WEEE Directive results in a higher labor requirement and, therefore, more potential job creation than noncompliant treatment, and that the diversion of one portion of waste not arising due to improper disposal in metal scrap yards to compliant treatment would create a minimum of 12 additional jobs. These findings and the accompanying recommendations contribute to closing essential knowledge gaps and improving policy implementation and practice in the development of the circular economy in Ireland and the European Union, as well as providing tools to expand these improvements elsewhere.