Electronic waste recycling and sustainability in Singapore
Electronic waste recycling and sustainability in Singapore
Published 1 October, 2019
Waste and other discarded objects contain [a] latent value which is realised when individuals and firms seek to recycle, repurpose, reuse or process these materials to extract the materials that are of value.
Aidan Wong
Assistant Professor of Urban Studies (Education)
In brief
- Waste is discarded by those who see no more value in it or have no organised commercial interest in it, but this does not mean that the object has genuinely lost all its worth.
- Reducing the amount of e-waste must be met with a simultaneous strategy for harnessing the existing gold mine of e-waste and encouraging consumers and businesses to realise these valuable resources.
- Assistant Professor Aidan Wong's research helps 1) Cast light on the importance of us conceptualise the processes and events that occur post-consumption, 2) Point towards the importance of the informal economy and 3) underscore the importance of the state in formulating and enforcing regulatory mechanisms that provide for a stable environment for the recycling industry.
Assistant Professor Aidan Wong from SMU’s School of Social Sciences discusses the value of electronic waste recycling and sustainability in Singapore.
Assistant Professor of Humanities Aidan Wong from SMU’s School of Social Sciences has researched on the areas of development and sustainability, in particular on electronic waste, informal labour and economic development.
In recent years, he has published a paper on ‘Waste’, Value and Informal Labour: The Regional E-Waste Recycling Production Network in Malaysia and Singapore” and is seeking to update it.
In this podcast, Assistant Professor Wong discusses the value of electronic waste recycling and sustainability in Singapore.