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【Abstract】This essay aims to explore the concept of environmental crime by examining a case study of illegal trafficking and the recovery of e-waste from the EU to Accra which is a city in Africa and discuss how environmental crime differs from other crimes from the perspectives of criminal motivation and the victim.
【Key words】environmental crime； electronic waste， environment； human health； Africa
【作者簡介】董昊赟，中国刑事警察学院。
There are over 40 million tons of electronic waste （also known as e-waste） which is produced all over the world every year （EUROSTAT， 2014）. This is similar to discarding 800 laptops every second （EUROSTAT， 2014）. In the 21st century， waste electrical and electronic equipment （WEEE） have become a global environmental and human health problem and pose new challenges to explore the concept of environmental crime. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency （USEPA）， environmental crime is defined as an act which breaches environmental legislation and causes significant harm or risk to the environment and human health （Hall， 2015）. Since the 1989 Basel Convention， the illegal act of moving e-waste from the EU to third world countries has been defined as an example of green crime owing to the fact that e-waste contains harmful chemicals including brominated flame retardants （BFRs） and classical toxic trace elements （TEs）. Not only do these chemicals damage our health but they also harm the environment if recycling and disposal is unregulated. As reported by UNEP （2005）， e-waste is transported from industrialized countries to less affluent regions of the world such as China， India， and the Philippines because of a higher awareness about hazardous e-waste in EU countries and because of the more stringent regulations regarding the disposal of e-waste.
Currently， Accra is the largest city in Ghana in terms of developed industrial establishment and it has become one staple destination for e-waste worldwide as a result of a lack in recycling infrastructure， inadequate funding， poor legislation， a lack of public awareness and market based instruments. In 2004， a new policy implemented by the Government of Ghana （GOG） called “bridge the digital divide” which reduced the import duty to zero on used computers. What’s more， government-approved programs like “One Laptop per Child” was initiated for primary school children， has encouraged importation of second-hand electronics in 2009. These practices have most certainly lead the country to become a magnet recipient of e-waste shipments. Although Ghana has ratified the Basel Convention in 2011， the stipulations of the Convention have not examined informal workers and informal-formal linkages for sustainable recycling. As claimed by Hall （2015）， there are no distinct policies in Ghana for the regulation and management of e-waste. A general environment of disarray throughout the official economy was created because of their liberalization policies， which in turn contributed greatly to the growth of trans-boundary trading opportunities. Official statistics demonstrate that the second hand electrical and electronic equipment （EEE） imports into Ghana added up to 215，000 tons and a per capita import of 9 kg. However， the majority of e-waste was tackled in the wrong way. As reported by EUROSTAT （2014）， only approximately 15.5% of e-waste was recycled with methods that are efficient and environmentally safe in 2014. It has been argued by Hall （2015） that such kinds of illegal trade， shipment and consequential dumping of e-waste， has been regarded as an example of transnational environmental crime. Trafficking EEE to a third world country also has been criminalized by the European and global legislative frameworks such as the Basel Convention. Nevertheless， environmental crimes are defined broadly as illicit acts which harm the environment directly and have a negative effect on our surroundings. Regardless of incalculable damages to environment and human health， EU countries have and still do transport lots of e-waste to Accra. On the one hand， rational choice theory could be used to explain why individuals and corporations in the EU countries choose to export e-waste instead of disposing of it or recycling it domestically. Rational choice theory is an economic principle which provides people with the highest benefit and it can be applied to both the individual and corporation. Trans-boundary transferring not only can make EU countries reduce cost but also can make them earn a high profit because there are high standards for the treatment of WEEE under EU waste legislation and WEEE legislation. In addition， destination countries have various discarded facilities which are available for recovery. It was revealed in a community study， the total market value of the e-waste recycling and reuse （R
【Key words】environmental crime； electronic waste， environment； human health； Africa
【作者簡介】董昊赟，中国刑事警察学院。
There are over 40 million tons of electronic waste （also known as e-waste） which is produced all over the world every year （EUROSTAT， 2014）. This is similar to discarding 800 laptops every second （EUROSTAT， 2014）. In the 21st century， waste electrical and electronic equipment （WEEE） have become a global environmental and human health problem and pose new challenges to explore the concept of environmental crime. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency （USEPA）， environmental crime is defined as an act which breaches environmental legislation and causes significant harm or risk to the environment and human health （Hall， 2015）. Since the 1989 Basel Convention， the illegal act of moving e-waste from the EU to third world countries has been defined as an example of green crime owing to the fact that e-waste contains harmful chemicals including brominated flame retardants （BFRs） and classical toxic trace elements （TEs）. Not only do these chemicals damage our health but they also harm the environment if recycling and disposal is unregulated. As reported by UNEP （2005）， e-waste is transported from industrialized countries to less affluent regions of the world such as China， India， and the Philippines because of a higher awareness about hazardous e-waste in EU countries and because of the more stringent regulations regarding the disposal of e-waste.
Currently， Accra is the largest city in Ghana in terms of developed industrial establishment and it has become one staple destination for e-waste worldwide as a result of a lack in recycling infrastructure， inadequate funding， poor legislation， a lack of public awareness and market based instruments. In 2004， a new policy implemented by the Government of Ghana （GOG） called “bridge the digital divide” which reduced the import duty to zero on used computers. What’s more， government-approved programs like “One Laptop per Child” was initiated for primary school children， has encouraged importation of second-hand electronics in 2009. These practices have most certainly lead the country to become a magnet recipient of e-waste shipments. Although Ghana has ratified the Basel Convention in 2011， the stipulations of the Convention have not examined informal workers and informal-formal linkages for sustainable recycling. As claimed by Hall （2015）， there are no distinct policies in Ghana for the regulation and management of e-waste. A general environment of disarray throughout the official economy was created because of their liberalization policies， which in turn contributed greatly to the growth of trans-boundary trading opportunities. Official statistics demonstrate that the second hand electrical and electronic equipment （EEE） imports into Ghana added up to 215，000 tons and a per capita import of 9 kg. However， the majority of e-waste was tackled in the wrong way. As reported by EUROSTAT （2014）， only approximately 15.5% of e-waste was recycled with methods that are efficient and environmentally safe in 2014. It has been argued by Hall （2015） that such kinds of illegal trade， shipment and consequential dumping of e-waste， has been regarded as an example of transnational environmental crime. Trafficking EEE to a third world country also has been criminalized by the European and global legislative frameworks such as the Basel Convention. Nevertheless， environmental crimes are defined broadly as illicit acts which harm the environment directly and have a negative effect on our surroundings. Regardless of incalculable damages to environment and human health， EU countries have and still do transport lots of e-waste to Accra. On the one hand， rational choice theory could be used to explain why individuals and corporations in the EU countries choose to export e-waste instead of disposing of it or recycling it domestically. Rational choice theory is an economic principle which provides people with the highest benefit and it can be applied to both the individual and corporation. Trans-boundary transferring not only can make EU countries reduce cost but also can make them earn a high profit because there are high standards for the treatment of WEEE under EU waste legislation and WEEE legislation. In addition， destination countries have various discarded facilities which are available for recovery. It was revealed in a community study， the total market value of the e-waste recycling and reuse （R