An Expert Decision-Making System for Identifying Development Barriers in Chinese Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Recycling Industry

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has become one of the fastest growing waste streams around the world, putting tremendous pressure on the environment, resources, and public health. A practically driven question about how to promote the development of the WEEE recycling industry plagues many countries, especially in developing economies such as China. This study uses an expert decision-making system based on the fuzzy Delphi technique and improved Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method to identify the critical barriers and their cause-effect relationships in the Chinese WEEE recycling industry. First, using the fuzzy Delphi technique, we find that nine barriers significantly impact the development of the Chinese WEEE recycling industry. Then, three critical barriers which include the implementation of policies and regulations, qualified disassembly, and unqualified disassembly are identified by employing the improved DEMATEL method. Furthermore, implementation of policies and regulations belong to the cause group, and the other two barriers belong to the effect group. Finally, some practical implications are proposed to promote the sustainable development of the Chinese WEEE recycling industry. To be specific, the Chinese government should optimize the implementation details of the e-waste take-back legislation, establish a flexible reward-supervision-penalty mechanism to support the formal collector, and improve the collection efficiency. The results of this paper are of value to firms that participate in WEEE recycling and to the government that aims to promote the sustainable development of the WEEE recycling industry.

Automated summary

The growth of waste electrical and electronic equipment poses significant challenges to the environment, resources, and public health. This study utilizes the fuzzy Delphi technique and improved DEMATEL method to identify critical barriers and their cause-effect relationships in the Chinese WEEE recycling industry. The findings highlight the importance of policy implementation, qualified disassembly, and unqualified disassembly as critical barriers to the industry's development. Practical implications are proposed to promote sustainable development, which include optimizing legislation implementation, establishing a flexible reward-supervision-penalty mechanism, and improving collection efficiency.