Monitour: Tracking global routes of electronic waste
David Lee1, Dietmar Offenhuber1, Fábio Duarte2
1Senseable City Laboratory, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Waste Management (New York, N.Y.)
|November 16, 2017
Summary
Tracking global e-waste exports using GPS reveals illegal shipments. This technology aids in monitoring and regulating hazardous electronic waste movement, enhancing compliance with international regulations.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Waste Management
- Supply Chain Logistics
Background:
- Global trade in waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) is substantial.
- Tracking e-waste flows is challenging due to undocumented and illegal trade.
- Existing methods struggle to monitor the international movement of hazardous electronic waste.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the application of wireless GPS location trackers for monitoring e-waste.
- To detect non-compliant recycling operations within the United States.
- To trace the global trajectories of exported e-waste.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing hidden wireless GPS location trackers embedded in discarded computer monitors and printers.
- Tracking the movement of dozens of devices from the US to various ports in Asia.
- Analyzing the data to identify unreported international e-waste flows.
Main Results:
- Successfully tracked numerous e-waste devices being exported overseas, primarily to Asia.
- Identified potential cases of non-compliant recycling operations in the United States.
- Demonstrated that GPS tracking can uncover unreported e-waste trade.
Conclusions:
- Wireless GPS trackers offer a novel method for monitoring and regulating international e-waste movement.
- This technology can enhance enforcement of rules concerning hazardous electronic waste.
- Limitations of GPS tracking methods in e-waste monitoring were also discussed.
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