Comparative Analysis of E-Waste Management Policies and Institutional Barriers
LMB/102B Sociology Boardroom, Law and Sociology Building, Campus East, University of York (Map)
Event details
This study seeks to explore the electronic waste (e-waste) management policies and institutional barriers in the tourism and hospitality industries of the United Kingdom and South Africa.
The tourism and hospitality industry has become increasingly dependent on digital technologies, such as property management systems, smart rooms, automated machines, and digital booking systems, resulting in increased electronic waste. Despite national-level regulatory frameworks for the management of electronic waste, research on the interpretation and implementation of e-waste regulations in the tourism and hospitality industries remains scarce.
This study uses a comparative case-study methodology to examine regulatory frameworks, institutional capacities, and the effectiveness of regulatory systems in the United Kingdom, a developed economy, and South Africa, an emerging economy. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study will integrate analysis of regulatory and policy documents, structured surveys, and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders.
This study further aims to provide evidence-based findings to support the development of regulatory systems that better integrate circular economy concepts with digital technologies in the tourism and hospitality industry. This seminar will outline the nature of this study, along with preliminary research results covering analysis of the UK/South African legal and regulatory frameworks, as well as initial findings from the empirical survey/interview data.
Professor Reshma Sucheran
Professor Reshma Sucheran is an Associate Professor in the Department of Hospitality, Durban University of Technology (DUT), South Africa. With an academic career spanning three decades, she has made significant contributions to sustainable tourism development, climate change mitigation, and environmental management within the tourism sector.
Professor Sucheran holds a PhD in Geography and Environmental Management. Her teaching portfolio includes undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Sustainable Tourism Development and Planning, Climate Change and Environmental Management for Tourism, Research Methodology, and Tourism and Crisis Disaster Management. She also supervises several master’s and doctoral students, advises on research ethics, and promotes multidisciplinary research initiatives.
Professor Sucheran is the Head of Community of Practice in Tourism and People2People Exchange at the BRICS Research Institute. Her research focuses on critical areas such as sustainable (tourism) development, climate change, waste, water, and energy management, CSR, and crisis management in tourism. She has published extensively, including being the sole editor of a book titled Sustainable Waste Management in the Tourism and Hospitality Sectors (2025). She has also worked on collaborative research projects in Australia, Vietnam, Portugal, India, and Russia. Her contributions have been recognised with multiple awards, including the Faculty of Management Sciences Researcher of the Year Award – Gold Status (2022) and grants from the DUT Women in Research and Innovation Program, the Erasmus+ KA107 program and the University of York, UK.