ABSTRACT
This chapter builds upon earlier publications that have addressed issues of white-collar crime associated with the global e-waste trade. E-waste is waste from electronic and electrical equipment, such as television sets, refrigerators, computers, mp3 players and batteries. Illegal trade in hazardous waste has also been labelled a major environmental crime. Criminology has been relatively silent about environmental crime for many years. The illegal trade in e-waste can also harm the economy and government institutions in both the countries of origin and destination. In assessing the social organization of the illegal trade in e-waste, this study found inspiration in the theory on legal/illegal interfaces in transnational crimes. Individual nation states are principal actors in criminal policy making and implementation, but this is increasingly challenged by the global dimensions of crime. The prevention and control of environmental crime then comes down to public, corporate and civil society regulators working together in regulatory hybrids.
