Kenny Li
VY200 Section1--Professor Tybon
Annotated Bibliography Final Draft
14 March 2024
Annotated Bibliography for “Propel the Transition to a More Circular Electronic Use: A Case
Study in SJTU ”
“Electronics: Redesigning Products for Reuse and Recovery.” The Circular Economy
Opportunity for Urban and Industrial Innovation in China. Ellen MacArthur Foundation,
2018, https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/chinareport. Accessed 20
February 2021.
This paper systematically and comprehensively demonstrates the development space of
China's circular economy in the field of electronics, reveals the huge economic benefits that
will be brought to China by the transformation from a linear economy to a circular economy
in this impact area, and puts forward the concrete measures needed to obtain these benefits.
In terms of technology, the paper calls for more formal e-waste recycling, a longer product
life span through reuse and reprocessing, and subscription electronics services. In terms of
the economic model, this paper proposes to use digital means to develop new business forms,
improve product design from the source to conform to the principle of circular economy and
build the trust framework of secondary electronic products. The arguments in this paper are
very rich and comprehensive. It has obtained a large number of reliable relevant data from
many international and domestic official economic and environmental organizations and also
presents many case studies of e-waste specialized processing companies such as Aihuishou.
Also, from the development space of circular economy to economic benefits, the logic of the
full text is rather clear. As the starting point and origin of our research, the various materials
from the data initiative in this paper will serve as the most important reference materials for
us to promote circularity in the field of electronics on the SJTU campus.
"Infineon's OPTIGA authenticate helps reduce e-waste, promote circular economy."
Communications Today, 2023. ProQuest,
https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/infineons-optiga-authenticate-helps-reduce-e/d
ocview/2868749288/se-2. Accessed 11 Mar. 2024.
This piece of news reports the effort made by the well-known semiconductor and
electronics company, Infineon, to practice a circular economy and solve the e-waste problem.
It emphasizes that the circular solution to the electronics area is the 6R concept that includes
reduce, reliability, repair, reuse, refurbish, and recycle. The company follows these principles
throughout the entire industrial chain on different levels, helping consumers and societies to
transition to a more circular and sustainable approach. The 6R circular economy principles
applied in the treatment of e-waste it proposes are relatively comprehensive and provide a
diversity of treatment options. Unfortunately, due to space constraints, it did not research the
relevant measures of Infineon in depth. However, these diverse options can lead me to search
for specific Infineon initiatives as alternative solutions to campus e-waste problems. It also
has the advantage that it was published last fall and represents the latest approach to e-waste
treatment, so it is still valuable for reference.
Iqbal, Mohammad, et al. "Electronic Waste Generation by Selected Students of a University
in Bangladesh: A Case Study." Journal of Hazardous, Toxic and Radioactive Waste, vol.
26, no. 4, 2022. ProQuest,
https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/electronic-waste-generation-selected-stude
nts/docview/2698354261/se-2. Accessed 11 Mar. 2024.
This research is a case study about estimating how much e-waste is generated by
university students in one year, conducted in SUST, Bangladesh. It is quantitive research
among students selected from several departments, collecting data both from a survey
and other sources. With the application of Slovin's formula and the linear trend approach,
the researchers concluded that the total amount of e-waste in SUST in 2016 was about
2.5 tons, and that this figure would increase to more than 4 tons in 2024. At the end of
their paper, they summarized the existing e-waste management system, and then
generally put forward some recommendations. Based on a literature review of a large
number of papers, the mathematical models of this research greatly enhance the
credibility, making the result of estimation rather reliable. In addition, in the survey
process, the researchers carefully selected universal and representative respondents, and
compared the differences of e-waste generation with different genders, different
departments, different product types, and so on, which shows that they applied
professional techniques in making questionnaires and analyzing the data. As a case
study, this research is similar to the research we will conduct on the SJTU campus, and
its quantitative analysis ideas and methods can provide us with much inspiration.
Kinnaman, Thomas, and Fumi Yokoo. "The Environmental Consequences of Global Reuse."
The American Economic Review, vol. 101, no. 3, 2011, pp. 71-76. JSTOR,
https://www.jstor.org/stable/29783717. Accessed 10 Mar. 2024.
This article discusses the environmental consequences of Global Reuse and the economic
instruments to solve these problems, proving that subsidizing the return of used electronics
can improve economic efficiency. Given used electronics are often transported from
developed countries to developing ones and become e-waste to be disassembled, this paper
proposes a two-country model to investigate the relevant taxes in both countries and the
subsidy for the disassembly of e-waste. As is written by economists, this article provides deep
insights into economic instruments to improve global efficiency in the reuse and recycling of
electronic waste and an economic model that is simple, clear, and accessible for assessment.
As far as I’m concerned, if feasible, our university can also follow these practices and charge
disposal fees to those who dispose of e-waste, and/or cooperate with professional e-waste
treatment enterprises to promote proper disposal of e-waste on campus by giving them certain
subsidies. These recommendations will likely be made to the school after our further
assessment, given that the incentives and economic means are also important ways to deal
with the environmental consequences of e-waste.
Wang, Xuejun, and Katharina Kummer Peiry. “Circular Economy and EPR Mechanism in
China: Current Situation and Perspectives.” Extended Producer Responsibility Policy in
East Asia: - In Consideration of International Resource Circulation -, edited by
Yasuhiko Hotta et al., Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, 2009, pp. 75–86.
JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep00834.11. Accessed 9 Mar. 2024.
This article focuses on the implementation of the "Extended Producer Responsibility"
policy on managing e-waste and the current laws regarding the circular economy in
China, arguing that they are still in their early stages. It points out that the legal
construction of it mainly learned from the EU and briefly introduces the existing laws
and their main contents about EPR, which aims at improving producers' responsibility
for the life cycle of their products. It also compares the differences in e-waste
management between China and the EU, concluding the scope for improvement by the
Chinese government, industry and the public. The most prominent feature of this paper
is the introduction of many corporate examples, which makes its analysis more concrete
and persuasive. For instance, the trade-in of microwave ovens at Haier Company is a
good example of how a collecting system for waste home appliances works. Although
this article was published 15 years ago, it can still helps us to systematically understand
the current situation of China's circular economy, so that we can better leverage the
power of these government laws and corporate measures when promoting the circularity
of electronic use on SJTU campus. We can also learn from the approaches mentioned in
it and advocate for our faculty, staff and students to apply them in the recommendations
part of our research.
World Health Organization. WHO Initiative on E-Waste and Child Health. World Health
Organization, 2021. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep55784. Accessed 19 Mar.
2024.
This book introduces the significant health risks of hazardous chemicals in the informal
e-waste recycling process for children and adolescents, and lists current WHO projects in this
area. At present, a large number of children are still exposed to the combustion or acid
leaching of e-waste, which releases a variety of organic and inorganic substances that are
harmful to their neurodevelopment and cause more severe DNA damage. The book suggests
that informal workers should take protective equipment and separate their working
environment from the vulnerable groups. One of the important values of this brochure is that
it is written by WHO, the largest intergovernmental health organization in the world, with
very high reliability, and reflects the international consensus and mainstream research
directions on issues related to e-waste treatment. I think that since our research is focused on
applying circular economy ideas to improve the treatment of e-waste, the direct health
hazards of e-waste revealed in this book illustrate the need and importance of our research.