Government and intermediary business engagement for controlling electronic waste in Indonesia: A sustainable reverse logistics theory through customer value chain analysis

Abstract

Environmental pollution caused by the improper processing of electronic waste, especially from mobile phones, has increased drastically. Governments in developing countries, including Indonesia, have not been ready to face this problem. Informal groups are reacting very fast, growing and spreading evenly in many places to profit through reverse logistics activities. They dominate the markets of used electronic products. Today, eradicating these groups is impossible due to poverty, low education, and unemployment problems. Competing with them is also useless. Therefore, this research aims to find an engagement model between government and intermediary businesses, both formal and informal, for a sustainable purpose. Before determining the model, we must understand the intermediary businesses' expectations. Therefore, we interviewed eight respondents that represent each business group and used customer value chain analysis to map them. We found forty-one expectations. Seven are the most common but are difficult to realize since they contradict government regulations. To cope with the urgency of the current situation, we concluded that the government should engage directly with the needs of these businesses, and we recommend three models of engagement i.e., empowerment, collaboration, and involvement.