Nigeria’s E-Waste Management: Extended Producer Responsibility and Informal Sector Inclusion

Abstract

This paper explores the emerging role of the private sector and public-private partnerships for e-waste management in the developing world. We use a combination of two conceptual frameworks, the triple bottom line approach and the sustainable livelihoods approach, to analyze the case study of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programme in Nigeria, which was launched in 2016. The sustainable livelihoods approach has been adopted in international development for over two decades, but so far it has not been applied for inclusion of informal sector workers in e-waste. Our findings illustrate how the financial and environmental bottom lines have already received considerable attention during the development of the Nigerian EPR programme, but that the social elements, in particular informal sector inclusion, have received less attention. Consequently, based on proven practices of the sustainable livelihoods approach, this paper identifies opportunities and provides recommendations as to how the international and national private sector players and government agencies involved in Nigeria’s e-waste EPR programme can establish a social engagement model to support inclusion of the informal sector. This model would not only help meet the financial and environmental bottom lines, but also address the social bottom line to improve livelihood outcomes for informal e-waste recyclers.