An Integrated Approach For E-Waste Management Evaluation and Planning: An Application to Singapore

Fang Liang

Abstract

E-waste, or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), has grown to be one of the most pressing environmental challenges in the world. It is not only the fastest growing waste stream but also a major source of environmental and human health concerns if left inadequately managed. Different e-waste management models exist in some countries while an absence of laws and regulations is more commonly observed worldwide. In order for the policymakers to establish the optimal recycling system under their unique socio-economic situations and practical constraints, they must understand how to evaluate the performance of different alternatives.

This thesis addresses the following research question: How do the policymakers systematically assess candidate e-waste management models for policy planning purposes? Specifically, it addresses various difficulties unique to this decision scenario in order to decide on the best policy mix that is practically meaningful.

Inspired by the preceding studies in the e-waste domain, this thesis presents a three-phase integrated methodological framework based on decision analytics. It starts with a comprehensive review of the popular e-waste management models: (1) general tax-based funding, (2) deposit/refund system, (3) advance recovery fees, (4) end-of-life fees and (5) extended producer responsibility, followed by a detailed SWOT analysis for each alternative. This helps identify important considerations and generate a refined network of evaluation criteria. The second step is to quantify the opinions from different stakeholders in the expert panel regarding the interactions among evaluation criteria and the performances of candidate models. It is achieved by adopting DEMATEL-based Analytical Network Process (DANP), a variation of the original Analytical Network Process (ANP) method with enhanced practicality. The final piece is completed with Zero-one Goal Programming (ZOGP) that incorporates practical resource limitations and aspiration targets into the model to produce meaningful results for policy planning.

Following an application of the proposed methodology to the e-waste management problem in a Singaporean context, policy recommendations are made for key e-waste categories regarding the choice and evaluation of popular e-waste models under different what-if scenarios. An extension to the case of China is developed to gain further understandings from comparison and contrast.