The dark side of the sun: solar e-waste and environmental upgrading in the off-grid solar PV value chain

ABSTRACT

The expected increase in the disposal of off-grid solar e-waste (SEW) in the Global South is potentially the dark side of a promising innovation. We suggest placing research aimed at identifying appropriate schemes for the collection and recycling of SEW within a conceptual framework that builds on the literature on environmental upgrading in global value chains (GVC). We advance the GVC literature by incorporating complementary insights from social anthropology and life-cycle assessments, which will enable end-user behaviour and waste disposal to be integrated into the GVC framework. It is shown how the conceptual framework could be applied in Kenya as an example of a regional hot spot for solar e-waste. We suggest three separate research areas that would ideally be combined as a coherent and programmatic approach to ensure the provision of solid inputs informing national SEW policies and systems of regulation.

KEYWORDS:

• Global value chain
• solar
• environmental upgrading
• lead firms
• electronic waste

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ For further details on the six main e-wastes streams, see e.g. Baldé et al. (2017).

² https://www.nation.co.ke/business/enterprise/Battery-maker-ABM-banks-on-recycling-to-face-importers/1954166-2062726-np7tkv/index.html.

³ https://plugintheworld.com/press-releases/mobisol-tackles-recycling-challenges/.