Analysis of the actors involved in the treatment of electronic waste from information and communication technologies (ICT), in the City of Mar del Plata

Abstract

Electronic equipment, which by now is omnipresent in urban life, poses a growing challenge in terms of post-consumer management due to the type and quantity of waste it generates. The aim of this paper is to analyze the valorization processes concerning the different social actors dedicated to the revalorization of Electronic Waste from Information and Communication Technologies (EWIT) in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina, by examining their cultural and commercial links. This article is the product of an investigation that was deployed in several phases. First, we examined previous Latin American experiences that had studied the problem from the perspective of the actors. Then, we collected the information to be analyzed using techniques such as participant observation and open and in-depth interviews with local actors involved in the different stages of the commercialization of the RE-ICT. The results presented arise from the interrelations of the subjects related to the RE-ICTs valorization processes. Three subsystems were identified within these processes: i) the formality, ii) informality, and iii) extraformality of the State. The circumstances that each actor faces are based on structural conditions inherent to market, technical, and knowledge logics. There is no state or normative support that formalizes and articulates the different actors for an integrated management; however, the study proposes some sustainable local-level guidelines. There appears to be no record of any in-depth, systemic and comprehensive analysis of the social dynamics surrounding the valorization of electronic devices in the city. As such, this work constitutes a fundamental social contribution to a future management plan for this type of waste.