A genealogy of ‘tech-waste’

Abstract

At the most final stage of the life cycle of a product, when it can no longer be used or is unusable, we call it “waste”. Waste has largely been a matter of indifference, while we describe and experience the technology as progress. However, the question of what to classify as waste, where to dispose of this waste, and who will move this waste has historically involved social context and contemporary power. This article defines waste generated as an inevitable byproduct of technological development as “tech-waste” and explores the genealogical composition of tech-waste within Korean society. This paper describes how technological waste has been defined and managed in Korea, focusing on the discourse found in KBS news reports searched for using “waste” as a keyword from 1987 to 2023 and policy reports from the Ministry of Environment's digital library during the same period. It categorizes technological waste into the emergence of technological waste, its authoritative (re)placement, and ubiquitous technological waste. Through this process, this paper aims to allow a critical understanding of tech-waste, which invisible mediates human-technology-environment, and reflect on the organic relationship between them.