Introduction
Environmental protection, conservation, and management in enhancing sustainability for the present and future generations are essential aspects that the handling, managing, and recycling of electronic waste (e-waste) aims to safeguard. Electronic waste or e-waste from broken, obsolete, worn out, and outdated electronic devices such as computers can destroy the environment when disposed of and handled carelessly. Better handling of e-waste through recycling can help eliminate the toxic and hazardous materials and chemicals generated from this waste’s poor disposal. The organization wants to venture into recycling e-waste to produce refurbished computing devices while protecting the environment, creating employment opportunities, and generating revenue. The economic viability of venturing into recycling e-waste is anchored on the business proposition of creating or manufacturing new and refurbished electronic devices within the economic reach of the low and middle socio-economic classes ( Lu et al., 2015 ). This will translate to immense benefits to our company due to revenue streams, job opportunities created, corporate tax for the government generated and promoting environmental sustainability efforts.
Problem Statement
People, companies, and households worldwide are looking for ways to reduce e-waste through better disposal and recycling. The level of awareness on e-waste reduction and finding innovative ways to handle the increasing electronic waste has compelled progressive and forward-thinking governments to give economic incentives and subsidies to companies in this industry (Leclerc & Badami, 2020). Our company stands to benefit from taking maximum advantage of the enabling environment to leverage and enhance our e-waste recycling programs’ operational capacity. The resultant effects of our company’s individual and collective efforts in recycling e-waste will enhance the awareness of the need to recycle. Recent business research and analytics assert that the global e-waste recycling and management market is rapidly increasing, with revenues of $41.97 billion generated in 2019 (Leclerc & Badami, 2020). Subject matter experts project that the e-management and recycling business’s revenues are expected to grow to $102.62 billion by 2027 (Leclerc & Badami, 2020). Therefore, it implies that it is highly economically viable to venture into recycled systems since the compound annual growth from 2020 to 2027 is expected to grow by 11.9% (Leclerc & Badami, 2020). In perspective, the average American home has more than ten electrically powered gadgets in their households, with two of them being cell phones (Leclerc & Badami, 2020). Electronic items have a short lifespan, and some become obsolete with newer versions being released from the various technological advancements. The chances of having e-waste per household are increasingly becoming evident.
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Research Process
The research design that will be used is anchored on gathering and analyzing data from secondary data sources such as peer-reviewed online journals to determine our proposed company’s economic viability and profitability. The descriptive research design will rely on making observations and surveys from already published and literature on the subject matter at hand (Gupta & Bedi, 2018). The research methodology used in the fact-finding mission of the economic viability and profitability of establishing the e-waste company will be based on surveys, observations, and case studies from secondary data sources. The credibility, integrity, and reliability of the expected findings will be realized from the data sources in the research methodology.
Success Factors that Will Impact the Company
Thorough considerations on the country assessment to understand the current framework and conditions in setting up an e-waste recycling plant will be a key success factor that will be analyzed with great attention to detail. Similarly, the research methodology will be informed by a structured multi-stakeholder approach that will rely on a feasibility report’s findings to determine the project’s economic viability. Cultivating good business relations and interactions with our internal and external stakeholders such as our vendors, suppliers, employees, and customers will be part of the multi-stakeholder approach that we intend to actualize. The feasibility study will be expected to give credible and reliable findings on policy and legislation, business and finance, technology and skills, monitoring and control, and marketing and research (Li et al., 2015). The research process and methodology will address the roadmap and the timeframe in implementing the project and the assigned responsibilities to the different units, departments, and individuals in the project’s actualization. The highest levels of professionalism and research ethics will be the guiding factors in overseeing the different stages of the research process and methodology are being followed.
Assumptions
There assumptions and considerations that will be made in the course of establishing the e-waste recycling facility. The assumptions are the vendors from whom outdated computing devices and computing components can be purchased, cost estimates of purchasing, receiving, storing, data destruction, refurbishing, software installation, testing for quality assurance, and delivery.
Vendors
Part of the initial investment that the company projects to use as startup capital is $2 million that will be spent buying “dead” electronic gadgets from accomplished vendors since they are the recycling process’s primary raw materials. Creating a good business rapport with vendors will be of paramount significance to influence our return on investment.
Cost Estimates of Purchasing, Receiving, Storing, and Data Destruction
The cost of purchasing the e-waste to be recycled is critical to the pricing model to be used in determining the cost of production of the finished goods. The receiving and storage facility or the holding area before the recycling process begins is part of the team’s assumptions in the production process. Receiving and storing the e-waste will be formative stages at the start of the production line. Formatting or destroying the data in the e-waste will require hiring professional service providers to be part of the team. Data handling and destruction are of critical concern to the quality of the finished product.
Software Installation
Using the current technology in the software installation in setting up the new or refurbished electronics is an undertaking that would occur in the production line. The software’s compatibility to be installed in the different electronic devices that will be manufactured is critical. A provision of updating the various software in the finished electronic products should be made.
Testing for Quality Assurance
Quality control and assurance should be maintained in the highest standards to ensure that the finished products have a competitive edge over other similar ones already in the market. The quality assurance provided will have a direct bearing on the pricing of the finished products. The expected sale price for a desktop computer is $250 and $295 for a laptop computer.
Delivery
The company’s business location team is still scouting for a suitable location with the required amount of traffic to set up a store/shop. The company intends to venture deep into the e-commerce platforms to enhance customer convenience and open new revenue streams.
Findings
The economic viability of the e-waste recycling plant makes excellent business sense and needs to be actualized. The e-waste recycling and management industry are one of the industrial sectors expected to record exponential growth in the years to come.
(Bozkurt & Stowell, 2016)
China is the biggest global market where e-waste management and recycling takes place. The table portrays China`s upward growth in e-waste since 2014. The growth is expected to rise until the year 2025 (Bozkurt & Stowell, 2016). The US is the second-biggest global market in e-waste management and recycling, and it is expected to record similar exponential growth in the coming years.
(Zeng et al., 2017).
The company is looking to partner with some of the biggest market players in the e-waste management and recycling companies such as Umicore, CloudBlue, Johnson Controls, and Lifespan in the future (Zeng et al., 2017). Investing time and resources in business partnership and mentorship by interacting with the market players will guarantee our success in e-waste recycling business operations.
Conclusion and Recommendations
There is great hope that our e-recycling business will be a successful venture that will positively impact the economy, environmental protection, and sustainability. Our business executives will be trained to gain the necessary skills to propel our business model to success. Learning from the industry's best market players will be an important business aspect that will help cultivate and entrench leadership and management in our business executives. Having an online presence and participating in corporate social responsibility that positively impacts the environment will be part of our business executive's activities to build our brand image and portfolio. Building professional and long-lasting relationships with the internal and external stakeholders will constitute our business executive core functions.
References
Bozkurt, Ö., & Stowell, A. (2016). Skills in the green economy: recycling promises in the UK e ‐ waste management sector. New technology, work and employment , 31 (2), 146-160. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ntwe.12066
Gupta, N., & Bedi, P. (2018). E-waste management using blockchain based smart contracts. In 2018 International Conference on Advances in Computing, Communications and Informatics (ICACCI) (pp. 915-921). doi:10.1109/ICACCI.2018.8554912
Leclerc, S. H., & Badami, M. G. (2020). Extended producer responsibility for E-waste management: Policy drivers and challenges. Journal of Cleaner Production , 251 , 119657. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119657 .
Li, J., Yang, J., & Liu, L. (2015). Development potential of e-waste recycling industry in China. Waste Management & Research , 33 (6), 533-542. doi: 10.1177/0734242X15584839
Lu, C., Zhang, L., Zhong, Y., Ren, W., Tobias, M., Mu, Z., ... & Xue, B. (2015). An overview of e-waste management in China. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management , 17 (1), 1-12. doi 10.1007/s10163-014-0256-8
Zeng, X., Duan, H., Wang, F., & Li, J. (2017). Examining environmental management of e-waste: China's experience and lessons. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews , 72 , 1076-1082. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.10.015
