GEOGRAPHIES OF URBAN MINING IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH
Abstract
The collection, recycling and sale of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) – or e-waste – are part of the so-called "urban mining" and have been occurring according to different technical-normative conditions, which impact the environment, society and the economy in different ways, especially in the urban spaces of the Global South. This article establishes a comparative analysis of urban mining in the Sao Paulo Macrometropolis (Brazil) and the Greater Accra Region (Ghana) through exploratory qualitative research. The results reveal a broad spectrum of actor-network arrangements established in the universe of e-waste, also confirming the relevance of political economy for understanding the technical and regulatory aspects of recycling in different geographical contexts.
Keywords: WEEE; Recycling; Collect; Commercialization; Comparative Urban Study.
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SICULAR, D. Scavengers, Recyclers, and Solutions for Municipal Solid Waste Management in Indonesia. Berkeley, CA: Center for Southeast Asia Studies UC Berkeley, 1992.
SKOCPOL, T.; SOMMERS, M. The use of comparative history in macrosocial inquiry. Comp Stud Soc Hist, v.22, p.174–197, 1980.
SLATER, D.; ZIBLATT, D. The enduring indispensability of controlled comparison. Comparative Political Studies, v.46, 2013.
STORPER, M.; SCOTT, A. Current debates in urban theory: A critical assessment. Urban Studies, p.1-21, 2016.
TOWERS, G. Applying the political geography of scale: Grassroots strategies and environmental justice. Professional Geographer, v:52, p.23–36, 2000.
UNEP – United Nations Environment Programme. E-waste management manual, 2007 [accessed 2020 May 5] http://www.unep.or.jp/ietc/Publications/spc/EWasteManual_Vol2.pdf
WALLERSTEIN, I. World-systems analysis: an introduction. Duke: Durham and London, 2006.
WILLIAM, R. Environmental injustice in America and its politics of scale. Political Geography, v.18, p.49–73, 1999.
BACCINI, P.; BRUNNER, P. Metabolism of the Anthroposphere: Analysis, Evaluation, Design. The MIT Press, 2012.
BANCO MUNDIAL. Dados Abertos do Banco Mundial, 2020 [acesso em 5 de julho de 2020] https://data.worldbank.org
BAUDRILLARD, J. A sociedade de consumo. Rio de Janeiro: Elfos, 1995.
BOULDING, K. The economics of Coming Spaceship Earth, 1966 [accessed 2020 Jun 1] http://www.ub.edu/prometheus21/articulos/obsprometheus/BOULDING.pdf
BRASIL. Decreto 10.240 – Acordo Setorial para implementação de Sistema de Logística Reversa de Produtos Eletroeletrônicos e seus componentes de Uso Doméstico, 2020 [accessed 2020 Jun 1]. http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2019-2022/2020/decreto/D10240.htm
COSSU, R.; WILLIAMS, I. Urban mining: concepts, terminology, challenges. Waste Management, v.45, p:1-3, 2015.
FORTI, V.; BALDÉ, C. P.; KUEHR, R.; BEL, G. The Global E-waste Monitor 2020: Quantities, flows, and circular economy potential. United Nations University (UNU)/United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) – co-hosted SCYCLE Programme, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) & International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), Bonn/Geneva/Rotterdam, 2020.
GEERTZ, C. The interpretation of cultures. New York: Basic Books, 1993.
GHANA. Hazardous and Electronic Waste Control and Management Act, 2016, 2016 [accessed 2020 Jan 19]http://www.epa.gov.gh/epa/sites/default/files/downloads/publications/Hazardous%20and%20Electronic%20Waste%20Control%20and%20Mgt%20Act%20917.pdf
GRANT, R. The 'Urban Mine' in Accra, Ghana. In: Mauch C (ed.). Out of Sight, Out of Mind: The Politics and Culture of Waste. RCC Perspectives: Transformations in Environment and Society, v.1, p.21– 29, 2016.
GSS – Ghana Statistical Service, 2020 [accessed 2020 Jun 20] https://statsghana.gov.gh
GUTBERLET, J. Recovering Resources – Recycling Citzenship: Urban Poverty Reduction in Latin America. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2008.
HUAG, J. Critical overview of the (urban) informal economy in Ghana, 2014 [accessed 2019 Dec 10] https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/ghana/11297.pdf
HUANG, J.; NKRUMAH, P. N.; ANIM, D. O.; MENSAH, E. E-waste disposal effects on the aquatic environment: Accra, Ghana. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, v.229, p:19-34, 2014.
IBGE – Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica. Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicilios (PNAD), 2020 [accessed 2020 May 10]. https://www.ibge.gov.br/estatisti cas/sociais/populacao/9127-pesquisa-nacional-por-amostra- de-domicilios.html?=&t=o-que-e
KUMAR, A.; HOLUSZKO, M.; ESPINOSA, D. C. R. E-waste: An overview on generation, collection, legislatgion and recycling practices. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, v:122, p.32-42, 2017.
KURTZ, H. E. Scale frames and counter-scale frames: Constructing the problem of environmental injustice. Political Geography, v.22, p.887–916, 2003.
LATOUR, B. Reassembling the social: an introduction to actor network theory Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005.
LEDERER, J.; LANER, D.; FELLNER, J.; RECHEBERGER, H. A framework for the evaluation of anthropogenic resources based on natural resource evaluation concepts. In: Proceedings SUM 2014, 2nd Symposium on Urban Mining, Bergamo, Italy; IWWG – International Waste Working Group, 2014.
LENCIONI, S. A emergência de um novo fato urbano de caráter metropolitano. A particularidade de seu conteúdo sócio-espacial, seus limites regionais e sua interpretação teórica. Anais do x Encontro Nacional da anpur. cd-rom. Belo Horizonte (MG)., 2003.
LEPAWSKY, J.; MATHER, C. From beginnings and endings to boundaries and edges: rethinking circulation and exchange through electronic waste. Royal Geography Society v.43, n. 3, p:242-249, 2011.
LEVIDOW, L.; RAMAN, S. Metamorphosing waste as a resource: Scaling waste management by ecomodernist means. Geoforum, 2018 [accessed 2020 Apr 5] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2018.10.020
LOPES DOS SANTOS, K. The recycling of e-waste in the Industrialised Global South: the case of Sao Paulo Macrometropolis. International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development, 2020 doi: 10.1080/19463138.2020.1790373
MAZON, M. Políticas de regulação e inovação: reciclagem de resíduos eletroeletrônicos. Tese (Doutorado em Política Científica e Tecnológica). Campinas: Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 2016.
MOORE, S. Garbage matters: concepts in new geographies of waste. Progress in Human Geography, v:36, p.780-799, 2012.
NGO, D. Waste and informal recycling activities in Hanoi, Vietnam. Third World Planning Review, v:3, p.405–429, 2001.
PEARCE, D.; TURNER, K. Economics of natural Resources and the Environment. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1990.
ROBINSON, B. E-waste: an assessment of global production and environmental impacts. Science of the Total Environment, v.408, p.183-191, 2009.
RUCEVSKA, I.; NELLEMANN, C.; ISARIN, N.; YANG, W.; LIU, N.; YU, K.; SANDNÆS, S.;, OLLEY, K.; MCCANN, H.; DEVIA, L.; BISSCHOP, L.; SOESILO, D.; SCHOOLMEESTER, T.; HENRIKSEN, R.; NILSEN, R. Waste Crime - Waste Risks: Gaps in Meeting the Global Waste Challenge. The UNEP Rapid Response Assessment. United Nations Environment Program and GRID Arendal, Nairobi, 2015.
SANTOS, K. L. Uma nova pobreza urbana: financeirização do consume e novos espaços da periferia de São Paulo. São Paulo: Alameda; FAPESP, 2017.
SHINKUMA, T.; HUONG, N. The flow of E-waste material in the Asian region and a reconsideration of international trade policies on E-waste. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, v:29, p: 25–31, 2009.
SHINKUMA, T.; MANAGI, S. On the effectiveness of a license scheme for E-waste recycling: The challenge of China and India. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, v.30, p.262–267, 2010.
SICULAR, D. Scavengers, Recyclers, and Solutions for Municipal Solid Waste Management in Indonesia. Berkeley, CA: Center for Southeast Asia Studies UC Berkeley, 1992.
SKOCPOL, T.; SOMMERS, M. The use of comparative history in macrosocial inquiry. Comp Stud Soc Hist, v.22, p.174–197, 1980.
SLATER, D.; ZIBLATT, D. The enduring indispensability of controlled comparison. Comparative Political Studies, v.46, 2013.
STORPER, M.; SCOTT, A. Current debates in urban theory: A critical assessment. Urban Studies, p.1-21, 2016.
TOWERS, G. Applying the political geography of scale: Grassroots strategies and environmental justice. Professional Geographer, v:52, p.23–36, 2000.
UNEP – United Nations Environment Programme. E-waste management manual, 2007 [accessed 2020 May 5] http://www.unep.or.jp/ietc/Publications/spc/EWasteManual_Vol2.pdf
WALLERSTEIN, I. World-systems analysis: an introduction. Duke: Durham and London, 2006.
WILLIAM, R. Environmental injustice in America and its politics of scale. Political Geography, v.18, p.49–73, 1999.
Published
22/06/2021
How to Cite
LOPES DOS SANTOS, Kaue; JACOBI, Pedro Roberto.
GEOGRAPHIES OF URBAN MINING IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH.
Mercator, Fortaleza, v. 20, june 2021.
ISSN 1984-2201.
Available at: <http://www.mercator.ufc.br/mercator/article/view/e20021>. Date accessed: 24 apr. 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.4215/rm2021.e20021.
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