The Impact of Cooperation on the Implementation of the ‘Descarte ON’ WEEE Reverse Logistics Pilot Project in Brazil

Abstract

Accelerated growth in the Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) market, planned obsolescence, and the increase in the disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) demand public policies that promote post-consumer responsibility from manufacturers of these products. Europe emerges as an example of WEEE reverse logistics (RL) implementation due to high performance models, which reveal a list of common factors: clear laws, well-defined roles, and coordinated efforts of RL actors to achieve the same goal. These elements of cooperation between the actors can partly explain the success of European countries. However, little research on this theme has been dedicated to understanding the challenges faced by developing countries in the implementation of WEEE RL. This research analyses how cooperation has impacted the implementation and results of a partnership between the Brazilian Government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to implement a WEEE RL pilot project (PP), called ‘descarte ON’, to assist in the drafting and implementation of the WEEE Sector Agreement (SA). The methodological procedures focus on indepth interviews with multiple stakeholders involved in WEEE RL. Results indicate that the PP showed it is possible to affect RL by means of cooperation among the actors, when there is a proposal that presents opportunities for all actors, with minimised risks, given the appropriate structure to implement partnerships. A favourable aspect was the participation of the retailers in the project, which for many years rejected to join RL initiatives in Brazil. On the other hand, WEEE collections were well below the expected volumes, showing that cooperation has to occur among all RL members including the final consumer. It has been found that the consumer needs to be encouraged and made aware of the benefits of proper disposal, not only in the collection phase but from the discussion and implementation of the project.