Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the impacts and implications of electronic waste infrastructure in a peri-urban context based on ethnographic fieldwork in Alice Springs, NT

Paper long abstract:

Who is responsible for the management of electronic waste (e-waste) in Central Australia? Where, when, and under what circumstances is e-waste made? When the national broadband network reaches across Central Australia, where should the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) that supports it be buried or recycled? This paper builds upon ethnographic fieldwork in Alice Springs, Northern Territory to examine how national policy and infrastructure experiences and perceptions of place are shaped in a peri-urban context. In particular, the authors examine the consequences of connecting, rather than the ability of digital infrastructures to connect, regional and remote Australians to domestic and international urban centres. The 'tyranny of distance', a concept popularized by conservative historian Geoffrey Blainey (2001 [1966]), refers to the dynamic role geographic distance has played in shaping the history of Australia. This paper queries how the 'tyranny' of geo-political distance obscures the toxic, polluting, and exploitive qualities of e-waste by 1) critiquing the current regulatory framework for managing e-waste in Australia and 2) incorporating the perspectives of environmental activists, waste professionals, electrical repair technicians, and information communication technology (ICT) professionals, working in Alice Springs. Lastly, this paper considers the potential of digital infrastructures to provide a means for making the consequences and opportunities associated with e-waste more visible for residents, small businesses, and local governments in Alice Springs. This requires a reorientation within waste management from a focus exclusively on solid waste towards an understanding of the social, cultural and ecological impacts of resources that are used, reused, and discarded across the entire life history of digital technologies.