ABSTRACT
In spite of many long years of deep consideration of the problems associated with e-waste by a broad range of academics, corporations, governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, industry bodies, state governments, national governments, and political unions that have produced, respectively, countless papers, guidelines, regulations, charters, products, standards, exposés, consultations, laws, and directives, there is a distinct feeling that these problems are in fact mounting instead of subsiding. It is easy to become withered or disillusioned with this state of affairs. However, let us take a step back from this e-waste-centric view of the problem. Let us instead view this escalating e-waste situation as a symptom of an electronics industry that currently is deeply unsustainable, instead of e-waste being a problem in its own right. When viewed in this way, it becomes clearer that treating the e-waste symptoms and ignoring the underlying unsustainable condition will not provide a sustainable solution, and that any resolution of the e-waste problem can occur only as part of a transformation of how the wider industry performs.
