ABSTRACT The expected increase in the disposal of off-grid solar e-waste (SEW) in the Global South is potentially the dark side of a promising innovation. We suggest placing research aimed at identifying appropriate schemes for the collection and recycling of SEW within a conceptual framework that builds on the literature on environmental upgrading in global value chains (GVC). We advance the GVC literature by incorporating complementary insights from social anthropology and life-cycle assessments, which will enable end-user behaviour and waste disposal to be integrated into the GVC framework. It is shown how the conceptual framework could be applied in Kenya as an example of a regional hot spot for solar e-waste. We suggest three separate research areas that would ideally be combined as a coherent and programmatic approach to ensure the provision of solid inputs informing national SEW policies and systems of regulation.

中文翻译：

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太阳的阴暗面：离网太阳能光伏价值链中的太阳能电子垃圾和环境升级

摘要 全球南方离网太阳能电子垃圾 (SEW) 处理量的预期增加可能是一项有前途的创新的阴暗面。我们建议将旨在确定合适的 SEW 收集和回收计划的研究置于一个以全球价值链 (GVC) 环境升级文献为基础的概念框架内。我们通过整合来自社会人类学和生命周期评估的补充见解来推进全球价值链文献，这将使最终用户行为和废物处理能够被整合到全球价值链框架中。以太阳能电子废物的区域热点为例，展示了该概念框架如何在肯尼亚应用。