MANAGEMENT OF END-OF-LIFE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS: THE CHALLENGES AND THE POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS FOR MANAGEMENT ENHANCEMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES CONTEXT

Abstract

The accelerating disposal rate of electrical and electronic products made the research on management of end-of-life electrical and electronic products becoming an emerging research in recent years. For developed countries, several regulations and policies were designed and introduced to improve the management of end-of-life electrical and electronic products. In contrast, in developing countries they are still lacking on the implementation of such regulations and policies. Moreover, the challenges on management of end-of life electrical and electronic products faced by developing countries are differed to developed countries. Therefore, this paper aimed to provide a recommendation to improve the management of end-of-life electrical and electronic products in developing countries. To achieve the objective, this study provides an overview on the challenges faced by developing countries in management of end-of-life electrical and electronic products, followed by the suggestions on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as an alternative mechanism to improve current management practices for end-of-life electrical and electronic products in developing countries. The challenges to apply LCA on current management practices in developing countries were discussed and future recommendation to enhance the management of end-of-life electrical and electronic products through well-established life cycle assessment (LCA) were made.