From E-waste to E-restoration: Using landscape architecture to promote electronic pollution treatment and ecological sustainability in Guiyu Town, Guangdong, China

As gadgets get updated faster and cheaper, we’re starting to get rid of our old ones. These seemingly outdated electronics are called e-waste. After recycling, e-waste can obtain great economic value, such as reusable components, precious metals and recyclable plastics. However, due to the lack of adequate government supervision and regulations, e-waste has been gradually imported from western developed countries to China in large quantities after the reform and opening up.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Guiyu, a town in Guangdong province, has started the business of dismantling e-waste, and the number of people participating in the business is growing because it is so profitable. At the same time, e-waste from abroad began to enter Guiyu in large quantities through transshipment points in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Nanhai. The traditional industry of collecting and profiting waste has really developed into the main business of Guiyu people: a large area of land has been abandoned, and 80% of families in Guiyu town have participated in this industry and accumulated wealth rapidly through this industry.

However, in order to save costs, the family workshops in Guiyu often adopt the most direct and primitive way to dismantle electronic waste. While bringing huge profits to the residents of Guiyu town, the electronic dismantling industry has inevitably caused serious environmental pollution, especially to the soil, groundwater and air: guiyu’s water resources have been completely contaminated with heavy metals and the food grown is inedible.

How to use landscape architecture to repair local pollution and create a sustainable town? This project analyzes the disposal process of e-waste in Guiyu Town, the harm of e-waste to landscape and community, and the future development trend of Guiyu Town. Three different land types, farmland, river and urban area, are selected to plan restoration and development into three stages to show the design strategy of each stage.