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    Will Liam save us? : an analysis of Apple's zero-waste goals and waste networks associated with the MacBook : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Media Studies at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2018) Vonk, Lisa
    As popular awareness of global environmental crises rises, the circular economy model is increasingly heralded as a means to address the environmental impact of traditional extractive economies. Technology provider Apple has been among high-profile corporations quick to adopt a circular model, announcing their plans to both end mining and become zero-waste. In this thesis, I analyse Apple’s zero-waste plans using my own notebook as a case study. A discourse analysis of the company’s 2017 Environmental Responsibility Report reveals that the zero-waste approach is (at least in part) a marketing strategy. It works to increase Apple’s power and consumer base. The zero-waste strategy is presented as distinct from their social responsibility, echoing the way that waste is conceptualised within the circular economy. Both Apple’s zero-waste plan and the circular economy rely heavily on technological innovation to offer solutions to waste. Waste is understood as something distinct from, and entirely controllable by, human intention. Individual case studies of my notebooks aluminium casing and hard disk drive demonstrate that vast waste networks of human and nonhuman actors enable Apple to function as they do, and are in fact integral to any economy organised around the pursuit of profit. Within this context, attempts to circumvent the worst harms associated with the extraction, production, consumption, and disposal contexts of ICT equipment will end up reinscribing or reinforcing wasteful practices. Through an auto-ethnographic description of dealing with the notebooks possibly failing battery, I argue that understanding ourselves as separate from waste networks (as zero-waste discourses encourage us to do) similarly forecloses the possibility of disrupting the most negative impacts of waste. Repair tentatively emerges as one way of destabilising the power of large corporations that benefit from capital such as Apple. Ultimately, the case studies presented here raise serious doubts about both Apple’s zero-waste strategy and the circular economy in general.
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    The e-waste management behaviours of household consumers in Whangarei, New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Environmental Management at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2018) Blake, Vicktoria Marie
    E-waste is known to have detrimental environmental, social and economic impacts, and its volume is growing up to three times faster than any other waste stream. Despite this growing problem, and the concurrent increase in detrimental impacts, New Zealand relies on voluntary schemes to manage the estimated 98,000 tonnes of e-waste generated in the country annually. While New Zealand could apply mandatory product stewardship of e-waste under the Waste Minimisation Act 2008, a recent report argued that there was insufficient data available to meet the requirements to enforce the labelling of e-waste as a priority product. This research aimed to generate first-time data on Whangarei household e-waste options, knowledge and behaviours, to inform e-waste management policy, resources and services which could be specifically designed for the district, with the intention that it would work towards providing sufficient data to allow for the mandatory product stewardship of e-waste. Research was conducted by way of online survey which asked Whangarei District residents questions specifically relating to how their households managed e-waste, and what influenced these management decisions. The survey was informed by international literature on the subject, as well as a review local and central government policies, and of the e-waste management resources services available both in the Whangarei District and in New Zealand as a whole. The research found that in the Whangarei District, cost and lack of knowledge of the services available are barriers to engagement in e-waste recycling, similar to international findings. However, contrary to international literature, general recycling behaviours and sociodemographic factors did not significantly influence e-waste behaviours in the district. The research also found that only 1.8% of the estimated e-waste generated in the Whangarei District each year was being recycled through the municipal services available. This figure could be improved via mandatory product stewardship at best, or e-waste recycling goals being set by the district council enable steps towards better services, resources and infrastructure at the very least. Whangarei and New Zealand as a whole are a long way from the appropriate management of e-waste. It is hoped this research, coupled with other information already available in the field, will allow the planning stage to begin toward adaptation to appropriate e-waste management, encompassing the waste hierarchy principles, if not nationally, then at least in the Whangarei District.