Marketization and Socio-technical Agencement: The Circulation and Exchange of Electronic Waste in Taiwan
Date Issued
2014
Date
2014
Author(s)
Liao, Yu-Kai
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to illustrate the formation and transformation of e-waste recycling market in the perspective of economization and marketization. Taiwan has developed the e-waste recycling industries since 1960s with noted recycling system and outstanding recycling technology (Nunns, 2013). But how does the concept of circular economy be practiced through series of material, technology and institution in Taiwan? How do actors calculate the value of e-waste and turn it into resource through various calculative tools? With those questions, this research adopted the research approach of economization and marketization, developed by Calışkan and Callon. Calışkan and Callon (2010) argued that economic activities should be considered as the connection between the materiality of things and the capacity of human behaviors and researchers need to disentangle the socio-technical agecement of econocmics and economy. Through the lens of economization and marketization, we could understand how the e-waste recycling markets were formed and transformed with different socio-technical agencements.
According to logics of calculation and operations of socio-technical agencement, the e-waste recycling markets in Taiwan could be classified into three different types－practical experience, economic formula and instrument assay. First, the mixed metal scrap recycling market in 1960-1991 was highly globalized and the value of mixed metal scrap was captured by the practiced workers with their well trained eyes. Second, since 1998, the general e-waste recycling market is determined by the economic formula of Resource Management Fund to give specific general e-waste economic value. But there are lots of gaps between the economic theory and recycling practice. Third, the industrial e-waste market is influenced by the instrument assaying and recycling technology in order to capture the value of e-waste and pacified the uncertainty of e-waste matieral since 1987.
Circular economy has been applied in the real world through various socio-technical agencements. Certainly, it has solved the problem of waste through the economic mechanism. However, there are still many gaps between economic theoretical concepts and practical experiences, such as waste material flow and recycling techniques. The case study of e-waste recycling market in Taiwan helps us to understand the global recycling network and how local socio-technical development will shape the marketization of e-waste.
Subjects
市場化
社會技術裝配
電子廢棄物
循環經濟
Type
thesis
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