‘How Nigeria, others deal with 2.9MT of e-waste’

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has revealed that Nigeria and other African countries are leading the way in the management of electronic waste (e-waste).

Director, ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, said the information and communication technology (ICT) boom comes with a huge increase of ‘e-waste’.

Bogdan-Martin said that a record 53.6 million metric tonnes (MT) of e-waste was generated around the world in 2019, and this number is on the rise, adding that experts predict that the yearly generation of e-waste will reach 74.7 Mt by 2030.

According to her, tackling this challenge will require a concerted and coordinated effort from all the organizations and individuals across the electronics value chain. She said manufacturers will need to develop a new approach and take responsibility for a product’s entire lifecycle.

Bogdan-Martin said African nations are showing the way of dealing with e-waste. Pointing to the Global E-waste Monitor 2020, 13 countries in Africa had an e-waste policy, legislation or regulation in place. She said their efforts can be a lesson to other nations around the world looking to improve their e-waste management systems.

According to her, some of the moves by African countries include having clearly defined value chain actors, ensuring sustainable financing, collaborating with the private sector and enforcing the system.

With Nigeria and other African countries generating 2.9MT of e-waste yearly, the ITU chief explained that long-term solutions to e-waste management will require a fair and economically viable approach to extended producer responsibility (EPR).

She said EPR requires that producers – such as manufacturers, importers or distributors – take responsibility for the end-of-life management of electronics sold on the market. This includes taking items back, recycling them and eventually disposing of them.

“Regulation must contain clear and easy-to-understand definitions of the different e-waste stakeholders to avoid confusion. Many African countries have given definitions in their regulations covering e-waste management and EPR. For example, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa place emphasis on a person or persons – rather than on entities – introducing, importing and manufacturing electronics. This makes it more efficient to identify who must register with the associated EPR scheme,” she stated.

Bogdan-Martin said the most sustainable system is a self-financing one, which is why the role of businesses and entrepreneurs in e-waste management is essential. She noted that in Nigeria, producers help cover the cost of e-waste management – including waste collection, separation and transfer, treatment and recycling and final disposal, as well as public information and awareness campaigns and raining programmes.

She stressed that these manufacturers, assemblers, importers and distributors pay a fee to the not-for-profit organisation, e-waste Producer Responsibility Organisation Nigeria, ensuring shared responsibility and funding for e-waste processing. This approach also ensures the EPR scheme remains resilient.

According to her, several countries in Africa have chosen policy approaches that establish Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) to implement EPR schemes. She said PROs provide a mechanism for producers to help them fulfill their obligations under the EPR scheme, such as providing the necessary funds to employ professional e-waste collectors and recyclers.

The ITU chief said streamlining enforcement for e-waste systems is also key. For example, she said counterfeit equipment can become e-waste much quicker due to faulty parts and non-conformity towards certain technical standards, among other things.

She revealed that to combat the importation of counterfeit equipment, the Zambia Information and Communications Technologies Authority (ZICTA) enforces the responsible importation of technology equipment through type approval, which means checking that a product meets a minimum set of regulatory, technical and safety requirements.

Bogdan-Martin said Africa’s experience in managing e-waste provides interesting approaches for all countries to consider when building an e-waste management system. “Of course, continuous improvement is necessary to ensure that the e-waste management system can adapt as needed.

“Such steps made by the government help set standards for new ways of working, living and doing business. Critically, they also highlight a key message: that all stakeholders should value electronics reuse and recycling.”