Towards Sustainable Management of E-Waste in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Comparative Study of Three International Models

Abstract

Waste produced from the end of useful life electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) denoted as e-waste, is one of the fastest waste streams worldwide. The growing amount of e-waste has caused a considerable challenge for policymakers to manage e-waste in an environmentally-sound mode in both developed and developing countries. Effective management of e-waste has become a global concern that is receiving growing attention due to the rapid increase in the quantity of e-waste. This is mainly attributed to the rapid technological innovation and shortening product's useful lifespan coupled with the tendency of people to keep up with the advanced technologies. This study compared and critically appraised three e-waste management models (producer responsibility, not-producer responsibility, and sharing responsibility) currently applied in Malaysia and the United States of America (USA), in an attempt to explore best management practices for the collection and treatment of e-waste that can be adopted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The data presented in this paper are secondary data obtained from a wide range of authoritative sources. This study recommends developing an e-waste national policy and regulatory framework to effectively manage the rapidly growing rate of e-waste in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.