The E-waste dilemma : are international measures and product stewardship schemes a solution?

The disposal of e-waste is an increasing challenge due to the acceleration in its volume and the environmental and human health hazards associated with its disposal.The issue is not confined to domestic waste disposal, but presents international complexities as large volumes of e-waste find their way to developing countries, testing their fragile environmental and human health regulatory systems. The global community has responded by adopting a number of measures, ranging from international conventions regulating movement of hazardous material through to domestic policies and legislation seeking to control products throughout their life cycle. This article will examine the problems associated with the disposal of e-waste and evaluate some of the measures that have been adopted to address them. A particular focus will be the use of product stewardship arrangements, including the Product Stewardship Act 2011 (Cth).13 page(s