Trapped in transition? A multi-level analysis of implicit and explicit challenges in Malaysia’s e-waste management system

Research on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) management has persistent gaps in environmental, social, and economic aspects. This paper systematically analyzes emerging indicator information, contrasting implicit (less tangible) aspects, such as governance and socio-economic issues, with explicit (more tangible) aspects, including environmental and technical issues using the Multi-level Perspective (MLP) framework. This study aims to provide a comprehensive review of 62 articles related to e-waste in Malaysia, focusing exclusively on journal publications and proceedings from 2010 to 2024. This finding highlights a significant imbalance in e-waste research in Malaysia, based on an analysis of 62 selected articles. The study revealed that research on social aspects accounts for 72% of the total, while studies focusing on economic aspects represent only 3%. This oversight has resulted in ’regime resistance’ and has revealed weaknesses in the current policy framework. Furthermore, the findings indicate challenges in integrating informal actors and systems into the formal e-waste management framework for households, as evidenced by the alarmingly low reported recycling rate of just 1%. Finally, this paper suggests five key recommendations for achieving optimal e-waste management performance: (1) Linking local solutions with global strategies; (2) Developing a circular economy (CE) framework and extended producer responsibility (EPR) model; (3) Implementing basic design principles; (4) Enhancing governance and social awareness; and (5) Adopting a systems analysis approach.