Organizational and economic barriers to creatingan effective e-waste management system

The article is devoted to studying organizational and economic barriers to creating an effective e-waste management system which is part of the closed-loop economy. The barriers are combined into basic blocks studied sequentially. Structural disbalances have been analyzed from the viewpoint of the theory of systemic balance which makes it possible to reveal the existing disbalances in the object, design, process, and environment sectors of the electronics industry and waste management system, and suggest the possible solutions to the identified problems. The financial constraints include high capital costs of creating an e-waste management infrastructure, lack of economic incentives for market participants, underdevelopment of the secondary raw materials market and lack of government support. Logistical restraints involve low density of waste collection points, high cost of transportation and sorting, lack of reverse logistics system and legal barriers. Market distortions reflect price distortions for primary and secondary raw materials, high level of VAT on secondary raw materials, no environmental damage in the price of products, the presence of a shadow waste market, and distortions in waste export. The author has identified the signs of an effective waste management system and formulated quantitative and qualitative indicators of the system, classified in accordance with organizational, legal, infrastructural, economic, environmental, social and informational criteria, and the criterion for international cooperation.

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