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The present paper is the product of a joint effort by the Sectoral Activities Depart-ment and the Cooperatives Unit of the International Labour Organization (ILO).This initiative supports the ILO’s commitment to promote forms of employment that safeguard the environment, eradicate poverty and promote social justice through sustainable enterprises and decent work, as reinforced by the International Labour Con-ference (ILC), at its 102nd session in June 2013. Electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) is currently the fastest growing waste stream, and it

Electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) is currently the largest growing waste stream. It is hazardous, complex and expensive to treat in an environmentally sound manner, and there is a general lack of legislation or enforcement surrounding it.Today, most e-waste is being discarded in the general waste stream. Of the e-waste in developed countries that is sent for recycling, 80 per cent ends up being shipped (often illegally) to developing countries to be recycled by hundreds of thou-sands of informal workers