E-waste recycling in Bangladesh-a call of the hour

In recent times, there has been a significant increase in the consumption of electronic components and household appliances in Bangladesh. The disposal of end-of-life electronic equipment generates waste, which is known as electronic waste or e-waste. The global e-waste generation in 2019 was 53.6 million metric tons (MMT) which is predicted to be over 74 MMT by 2030. The growing global e-waste can spread hazardous chemicals into water, soil and air which are also responsible for greenhouse gas emissions and severe health issues. However, a systematic e-waste management including proper recycling can help save the environment by reducing carbon emissions. Efficient e-waste recycling can also offer monetary benefits to businesses by addressing the material scarcity issues such as platinum and silver retrieved from recycled e-waste.

Recent reports suggest Bangladesh produces 3 MMT of e-waste each year which is predicted to increase in the coming years due to increasing consumption of household electronic products. Only smart phones and other mobile phones alone account for over 10 kgtons of e-waste and around 300,000 units of television sets become trash that create 1.7 lacs tons of e-waste yearly. This is further fuelled by the government's Digital Bangladesh project and the extensive availability and accessibility of modern technologies in Bangladesh, which are obviously indications of the country's way forward to be a developed economy in due course. Although there was an announcement of the Hazardous Waste (e-waste) Management Rules in the updated version of Bangladesh Environmental Protection Act 1995 in 2021, the lack of efficient implementation of the legislation left the country behind in establishing a proper e-waste management process.

E-waste collection in most underdeveloped and developing countries is largely informal and unauthorised and so is the case in Bangladesh. Adding to that, only 3 per cent of the total generated e-waste is recycled which is even lower than in other developing countries. As a result, the un-recycled e-waste is disposed in different landfills and other channels that cause severe environmental pollution and health hazard. Yet Bangladesh has tremendous potential to transform e-waste into useful resource if proper implementation of regulations and systems are in place. The annual business potential from e-waste is estimated to be approximately 220 million USD in Bangladesh.

Engaging consumers in w-waste recycling management can make a big difference. In doing so, most developed countries have regulations and formal structures (e.g. having e-waste disposal centres, extended producer responsibility) urging suppliers and manufacturers to incorporate options for consumers to appropriately dispose of end-of-life electronic products. Such formalised systems are still in their initial stages in most developing countries like Bangladesh.

One promising way to engage consumers in addressing the escalating e-waste problem is to effectively introduce reverse logistics (RL) programme. RL is a supply chain management that deals with managing the flow of products, parts and information exchanges from consumers back to the sellers or manufacturers. Policymakers and researchers are paying increasing attention to RL, as it provides a necessary balance between an organisation's financial performance and environmental management.

Implementation of RL can help firms enhance customer satisfaction and gain competitive advantage. Essentially customers get pleased when their suppliers take care of end-of-life products while they receive financial benefits (e.g. discounts for new electronic items upon returning the used ones). Firms can also promote RL as part of their sustainability strategies that can further enhance their environmental commitment. As such, companies often provide end-of-life electronic products exchange (EEPE) schemes that allows consumers to return the used products to support efficient recycling.

Consumers are the primary supplier source of an effective implementation of RL. Yet a lack of consumer awareness of RL programme and subsequent low participation rates deter many firms from adopting RL schemes such as EEPE. Very recent study on electronic consumers in Bangladesh suggests some approaches and strategies for inducing consumers to participate in EEPE programme as part of efficient e-waste recycling management.

The study finds consumer attitudes toward recycling is a major factor influencing them to participate in EEPE programme. This suggests firms to introduce different promotional activities (e.g. television advertisements, seminars, and posters) about the positive effects of EEPE programmes to make consumers aware and shape positive attitudes toward proper e-waste recycling practices. As customers buy and return electronic products to the retailers or other intermediaries, firms can also use these mediating channels to communicate and promote EEPE programme through different trade promotions for the target intermediaries.

Bangladesh is a homogenous society where individual's actions and behaviour are very much influenced by others. In line with this, the study further suggests marketers to leverage the referrals of significant social members to induce others to promote EEPE behaviours. This can be further implemented at retail setting through referral marketing where the existing customers of EEPE might be incentivised for introducing their family, friends, and other contacts to become members of EEPE programme.

There are other alternative retail strategies where marketers could facilitate retail infrastructures (e.g. exchange centres at convenient locations) and opportunities (e.g. promoting "exchange offer") to enable consumers to participate in EEPE programmes as part of e-waste recycling management.  This should be complemented with adequate awareness-raising campaigns to educate consumers on the detrimental effects of e-waste on living organisms and the entire ecosystem. These strategies may help consumers to form recycling habit which is a key to sustainable consumption behaviour.

Another potentially effective way to form a habit of proper recycling from early childhood could be implemented by educational institutions by undertaking environmental action programmes to educate students about recycling and its effects on the environment, health and society. Mass media could also help to progressively change individuals' habits from "go out and dump it anywhere" to proper dumping, recycling, or exchanging. Besides, electronic retailers could reinforce the habit of e-waste recycling by rewarding those who are already demonstrating such behaviour.

Dr. Khan M.R. Taufique is a full-time faculty member of Oxford Brookes Business School, UK and a visiting Associate Professor of American International University Bangladesh (AIUB). M. Sabbir is as Asst. Professor at the University of Barisal. ktaufique@brookes.ac.uk