Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 J Mater Cycles Waste Manag DOI 10.1007/s10163-017-0610-8 REGIONAL CASE STUDY Electronic waste and informal recycling in Kathmandu, Nepal: challenges and opportunities Keshav Parajuly 1  · Khim B. Thapa 2  · Ciprian Cimpan 1  · Henrik Wenzel 1   Received: 29 June 2016 / Accepted: 20 March 2017 © Springer Japan 2017 developing economies that have not attracted a lot of atten- tion until now. Keywords Electronic waste · Developing country · E-waste · Informal sector · Nepal Introduction Electronic waste (e-waste) has attracted the attention of both governments and the recycling industry all over the world in recent years. The increasing rate of waste forma- tion, use of potentially hazardous substances and valuable resources, and the environmental impacts related to end-of- life (EoL) electronic products are the key issues in discus- sion [1]. During the last decade, many developed countries have successfully designed and implemented e-waste man- agement systems based on the extended producer respon- sibility (EPR) principle [2]. Implementation of the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) Directive [3], for example, has contributed positively to the collection and recycling of e-waste in Europe. This fact is supported by many studies that have looked into diferent aspects, including quantifcation of the electronic products put on the market, their EoL collection and recycling rates, and the environmental and economic implications of the EoL management systems [4–8]. The EPR-based approach in Europe and many other developed countries can be consid- ered the state-of-the-art in e-waste management today [9]. Many developing countries, however, lack relevant poli- cies and the supporting infrastructure to combat the grow- ing problem, where the e-waste is handled—largely by a so-called informal sector—together with other recyclable materials from diferent waste streams. Abstract In the absence of relevant policies and support- ing infrastructure, many developing countries are strug- gling to establish a resource-oriented waste management system. In countries like Nepal, where informal recycling practices are prevalent, the lack of understanding of the existing system hinders any advancement in this sector. We characterize the informal recycling chain in Kathmandu, where a workforce of more than 10,000 people handles the recyclable items in various waste streams, including electronic waste (e-waste). A feld study, supported by key informant interviews, questionnaire surveys, and site obser- vations was conducted to understand the local recycling sector, the lifecycle of electronic products, and the relevant stakeholders. E-waste is found to be an integral part of the existing solid waste management chain and, therefore, needs to be addressed collectively. We identify the chal- lenges and opportunities towards building a sustainable system for managing e-waste, and ofer propositions for a resource-oriented waste management system. This study can serve as a baseline for future research on informal waste recycling, e-waste in particular, in Nepal and similar Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10163-017-0610-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Keshav Parajuly kepa@kbm.sdu.dk 1 SDU Life Cycle Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology and Environmental Technology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M, Denmark 2 Department of Civil Engineering, Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Pulchowk Campus, Lalitpur, Nepal