Construction dialectics of e-waste materiality among regulatory agents and merchants in Lagos, Nigeria.

Abstract

E-waste regulations as well as e-waste regulatory agents have been pivotal in the construction (definition, interpretation) of waste and non waste electronics. AT the heart of e-waste construction debates is e-waste trade legality with emphasis on how the law constructs and deconstructs e-waste materiality Consequently, various multilateral and national initiatives aim to restrict flows of e-waste from Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to non-OECD countries. Despite these initiatives, cross-border movements of e-waste remain unregulated, and a standard definition for e-waste is lacking too, Hence, ambiguities exist on the distinction between waste and non-waste electronics. These ambiguities are examined in this paper. Using a purely qualitative research methodology, driven by Key Informant and In-depth Interviews, this paper explores and discusses subjective and contextual constructions and definitions of e-wastes at two social action levels: the perspective of regulatory agents in Lagos, Nigeria, involved in legal-rational definitions of e-waste and the perspective of local actors such as consumers, in the Lagos Market (who constitute the policy target audience) at meaning-rational level.