Rights statement: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Bozkurt, Ö. and Stowell, A. (2016), Skills in the green economy: recycling promises in the UK e-waste management sector. New Technology, Work and Employment, 31: 146–160. doi: 10.1111/ntwe.12066 which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ntwe.12066/abstract This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.
Accepted author manuscript, 151 KB, PDF document
Available under license: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Final published version
Licence: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Final published version
Licence: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Skills in the green economy
T2 - recycling promises in the UK e-waste management sector
AU - Bozkurt, Odul
AU - Stowell, Alison Frances
N1 - This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Bozkurt, Ö. and Stowell, A. (2016), Skills in the green economy: recycling promises in the UK e-waste management sector. New Technology, Work and Employment, 31: 146–160. doi: 10.1111/ntwe.12066 which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ntwe.12066/abstract This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.
PY - 2016/7
Y1 - 2016/7
N2 - In advanced economies the ‘greening’ of the economy is widely seen as promising extensive job creation and upskilling, alongside its other benefits. In popular and policy rhetoric, the growing importance of ‘green skills’ is asserted frequently. This paper critically examines these claims within the context of the electronic waste management sector in the UK. Drawing on the cases of a non-profit organisation and a small private enterprise in North West England, we observe that despite government support for developing skills in e-waste, both the development and utilisation of skills remain minimal. Critically, the relatively more skill-intensive process of reuse is substantially less profitable than recycling and resource capture. The paper concludes by noting that the expectations from the green economy for high quality jobs need to be assessed within the context of similar, misplaced celebrations of previous transformations of work in order to avoid recycling the same promises.
AB - In advanced economies the ‘greening’ of the economy is widely seen as promising extensive job creation and upskilling, alongside its other benefits. In popular and policy rhetoric, the growing importance of ‘green skills’ is asserted frequently. This paper critically examines these claims within the context of the electronic waste management sector in the UK. Drawing on the cases of a non-profit organisation and a small private enterprise in North West England, we observe that despite government support for developing skills in e-waste, both the development and utilisation of skills remain minimal. Critically, the relatively more skill-intensive process of reuse is substantially less profitable than recycling and resource capture. The paper concludes by noting that the expectations from the green economy for high quality jobs need to be assessed within the context of similar, misplaced celebrations of previous transformations of work in order to avoid recycling the same promises.
KW - green economy
KW - green skills
KW - e-waste management
KW - repair and reuse
KW - skills policy
KW - recycling
KW - skills supply and demand
U2 - 10.1111/ntwe.12066
DO - 10.1111/ntwe.12066
M3 - Journal article
VL - 31
SP - 146
EP - 160
JO - New Technology, Work and Employment
JF - New Technology, Work and Employment
SN - 0268-1072
IS - 2
ER -