Case Study South Africa

The case study South Africa was launched in February 2004. Local partner organizations have thus far been gathering data on recycling processes applied in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. A simplified model was developed in order to describe the complex cross linking of causalities in the recycling system and its interaction with humans and the environment. A look at the following three-shell model should make the situation more easily comprehensible. Humans and the environment are at the center of the model. The e-waste recycling system has direct and indirect impacts on labor, health and the environment The recycling system is surrounded by a general framework. The prevailing economic situation, politics, legislation and its enforcement, science and technology, and cultural aspects influence the interactions within the system. This framework is again affected by changes in labor, health and environmental impacts. There is feedback from the centre to the framework.