Title: ELECTRONIC WASTE RECYCLING CHALLENGES IN AFRICA : SYMBOLIC OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES SITUATION

Abstract:

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), electronic waste or e‐waste, electronic scrap or e‐scrap, and end‐of‐life (EoL) electronic devices are synonyms used to describe discarded or obsolete electrical or electronic devices. E‐waste represents the dark side of  information communication technology (ICT) revolution that has transformed modern living, international business, global governance, communication, entertainment, transport, education, and health care with fast communication gadgets, such as personal computers and mobile phones. It is hazardous wastes according to the Basel Convention on the control of transboundary of hazardous waste because it contains hazardous substances such as heavy metals like Pb; Cd; Hg; etc and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as brominated flame retardants. E-waste also contains precious metals such as gold; silver; palladium etc thus depicting a sweet and sour story. Increasing demand for electrical electronic equipment (EEE) and used EEE(UEEE) towards bridging the digital gap is exacerbated by dumping e-waste majorly from developed countries in North America and Europe as well as China.

In the general absence of standard waste management systems and practices in Africa e-waste management has become a major challenge for governments and policy makers as legislation and enforcement is rare, and unregulated repair and reuse, together with crude and dangerous recycling practices and informal sector activities entailing uncontrolled dumping of e-waste in dumpsites/landfills; uncontrolled open burning contributing to the release of dioxins and furans as well as green house gases emission; and acid leaching of wastes predominate with potential harm to the environment and threat to human health. The absence of infrastructure for the appropriate collection and  recycling of WEEE and legislation dealing specifically with WEEE  are some of the additional challenges facing Africa.

The adoption of extended producer responsibility (EPR) within a circular economy seem to be an appropriate model for profitable e-waste recycling operations in Africa. A $15 million circular electronics initiative in Lagos , Nigeria was launched recently by the Nigerian Government, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and UN Environment as a pilot project that would lead to great investments in e-waste recycling infrastructure.

Biography:

Professor Oladele Osibanjo has a PhD degree in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Birmingham , Edgbaston, United Kingdom in 1976. He won the Elwell Award also in 1976 of the Royal Society of Chemistry; Midlands Region; United Kingdom for contribution to the development of analytical chemistry. He was a Professor of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria’s premier university until retirement in December 2015 from the institution. He was the pioneer Executive Director, since inception in 1994; of the Basel Convention Coordinating Centre for Training and Technological Transfer for the Africa Region (BCCC--Africa in Nigeria) on Hazardous Waste and Toxic Chemicals Management. BCCC--Africa in Nigeria is a Federal Ministry of Environment – University of Ibadan Linkage Centre and Federal Ministry of Environment/ GEF/UNIDO designated Regional Geo-environmental Centre, until his retirement in early 2016. .