A report released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) this week predicts that in SA, by 2020, e-waste from old computers will have jumped by 200% to 400% from 2007 levels.
The study, entitled "Recycling - from e-waste to resources", was issued at a meeting of the Basel Convention and other world chemical authorities, prior to UNEP's Governing Council meeting in Bali, Indonesia.
It used data from 11 representative developing countries to estimate current and future e-waste generation. This includes old and dilapidated desk and laptop computers, printers, mobile phones, pagers, digital photo and music devices, refrigerators, toys and televisions.
The e-waste surge forecast in developing countries is influenced by rocketing sales of cellphones, gadgets and other appliances.
Unless action is taken to properly collect and recycle materials, many developing countries face the spectre of hazardous e-waste mountains, with serious consequences for the environment and public health, say UN experts in the report.
"This report gives new urgency to establishing ambitious, formal and regulated processes for collecting and managing e-waste," says UNEP executive director Achim Steiner.
Developing countries may also face rising environmental damage and health problems if e-waste recycling is left to the vagaries of the informal sector, he adds.
"In addition to curbing health problems, boosting developing country e-waste recycling rates can have the potential to generate decent employment,” he notes. This can also cut greenhouse gas emissions and recover a wide range of valuable metals, including silver, gold, palladium, copper and indium. By acting now and planning ahead, many countries can turn an e-challenge into an e-opportunity, Steiner points out.
Given the infrastructure expense and technology skills required to create proper facilities for efficient and environmentally sound metal recovery, the report suggests facilitating exports of critical e-scrap fractions like circuit boards or batteries from smaller countries to OECD-level, certified end-processors.
Local concern
According to Frost & Sullivan analyst Derrick Chikanga, a major concern is that there is lack of awareness in SA about how to dispose of e-waste. Unless there are guidelines on how to dispose of e-waste in SA, this will continue be a problem, he comments.
Chikanga points out that, at the moment, there is no legislation and no awareness initiatives in SA that address the e-waste problem.
“There should be e-waste disposal facilities and recycling points near communities to make it easier to collect the e-waste as the public find it difficult and expensive to correctly dispose of their e-waste,” he advises.
E-waste pollution is driven by rapid development of computers and technologies in developing countries, Chikanga says. “As soon as new hardware comes in, people and businesses throw away old hardware instead of fixing it, and this drives e-waste.”
Senior IDC analyst Hannes Fourie says the only way to solve the e-waste problem is if government puts stricter policies and legislation - even penalties - in place to ensure proper disposal of e-waste.
“A broad range of environmental and health and safety laws can be applied to e-waste in SA, as, until 2009, there was no dedicated legislation governing the market.
“These laws include the Precious Metals Act, Second-Hand Goods Act, and Waste Management Bill,” he adds.
Fourie says that in 2009, the Waste Act came into effect, but this still only provides grey legislation on e-waste. “More effort needs to be taken to address this growing concern and I believe this issue is getting more attention from Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), as Albi Modise, DEA spokesman, acknowledged earlier that e-waste has become a problem in the country.”
Looking ahead
SA is identified to be a promising example of the application of the UNEP technology transfer framework. The country features advanced frameworks with strong engagement of manufacturers and the import industry in e-waste management.
Developing vibrant national recycling schemes is complex, and simply financing and transferring hi-tech equipment from developed countries is unlikely to work, according to the report.
The report recommends countries establish e-waste management centres of excellence, building on existing organisations working in the area of recycling and waste management.
The report states that existing bodies include those supported by the United Nations, including the more than 40 National Cleaner Production Centres, established by the UN Industrial and Development Organisation, and the regional centres established under the Basel Convention on the control of trans-boundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal.
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