Over the past several years, the topic of e-waste has captured the headlines in South Africa on a number of occasions, just as it has around the world. Most recently, at the Government Sector National E-Waste Conference (held in early September in Gauteng), Minister Edna Molewa of the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), once again called for the opportunities presented by e-waste to be turned into a stimulus for economic growth in the country.
There is no doubt that job creation from e-waste is an attractive prospect in a country such as South Africa, where unemployment levels, particularly among women and young people, have been stubbornly stuck at levels too high to justify in any circumstances.
As part of the overall concern for the environment, which is easy to agree with, the DEA has already seen success in other areas of recycling, such as tyres and plastic packaging, in creating such work opportunities. Neither of these, however, have the same challenges as that faced by e-waste. The range of products to be recycled and the diversity of their contents and recoverable components and materials provide significant challenges and present hazards that need careful management.
"Xperien has seen a growing recognition by its customers that they must comply with existing legislation in terms of e-waste disposal, while understanding the care which must be taken in selecting their partner for e-waste disposal," says Wale Arewa, founder and CEO of Xperien.
"We also know that e-waste contains a number of hazardous materials, which, if not handled correctly, present huge risks to those who process e-waste, as well as to the environment as a whole. That's why we believe any initiative to boost employment in the field of e-waste needs careful consideration. The whole supply chain for e-waste needs to be understood and included in any plans to promote e-waste recycling."
In the broadest sense that chain can include initiatives to reduce, re-use, recycle and recover e-waste. The users and consumers of electronic goods need to better understand the role they need to play in reducing the impact of e-waste on the environment, as well as the safe alternatives that exist in e-waste disposal.
International experience has shown that unrestricted use of the informal sector to handle e-waste can create more problems than it solves, as has been reported by the Pulitzer Centre: "Metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic are all present in e-waste. For those workers who spend endless days exposed to dangerous levels of toxic elements with little to no protection, while breaking down electronics by hand, the risks are clear."
"The World Bank is one of many international institutions that fully appreciates the importance of evaluating the impact of any initiative," says Dr Peter Tobin of IACT-Africa, one of the companies helping Xperien explore the implications of the opportunities and threats presented by e-waste.
While Xperien is happy to support efforts, whether driven by the public or private sector, which support the reduction in unemployment, it strongly supports the view that care must be taken that the most vulnerable in society, including unemployed women and children, do not have their situation made even worse by being involved in potentially hazardous e-waste job creation. The job must make sense in terms of not only their pockets but their health.
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