Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Centre (WEEE Centre) models e-waste management
By DERRICK VIKIRU
Technology has taken big leaps over the past two decades. Can you imagine life now without all these gadgets that just make our life so sweet and so easy? I love the present-day digital era why lie. So full of life; super-fast computers, super smartphone, twin cooling fridges, smartwatches, smart everything; and we are not done yet, we have this mammoth appetite for yet faster technological advancement of Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, Artificial Intelligence, electric cars, name it. Our global consumption of electrical and electronic appliances (EEA) has further been fuelled by our rising disposable incomes, our changing consumer preferences et cetera. But have you ever paused and asked where do all these things go when they get to end of life? We leave behind loads of junk of e-waste. UN data shows that the annual global generation of e-waste is soon expected to touch 50 million tonnes mark and the corresponding figure for Kenya has now crossed 44,000 tonnes.
Vague policies
Africa for a long time has been the damping site for tonnes of e-waste from the western world in the name of technological aid. This has largely been orchestrated by lack of legislative framework by African governments to counter the practice. But a few responsible citizens are mitigating the negative effects of these hazardous materials in Kenya. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Centre (WEEE Centre), an offshoot of Computers for Schools Kenya (CFSK) is one company that is processing hundreds of tonnes of e-waste in Kenya. Management Magazine set out to explore Nairobi’s relationship with this burgeoning e-waste stream as detailed by Boniface Mbithi – General Manager – The WEEE Centre.
“WEEE Centre is the only registered e-waste recycler in Kenya. We process discarded electronic items from big corporations in the country, including Safaricom, IBM and Samsung and from schools that we partner with through our Computer for Schools programme,” says Boniface Mbithi.
“The idea to create an e-waste management system was birthed when CFSK, a distributer of reconditioned computers to learning institutions in Kenya, noted that schools did not know what to do with obsolete computers when they reached end-of-life. We then started a project to recycle material from school computers; now, WEEE Centre is also helping corporates, NGOs, and the government dispose/recycle their electronic waste,” adds Mbithi.
Africa’s recourse
This organisation, you could say is a blessing in this part of the Sahara, being the only organisation that can professionally handle this dangerous waste. While plastic and metal can be processed in Kenya, other materials are deemed too hazardous and must be shipped abroad to Europe for processing. According to Mbithi, the centre has the potential to process over 200 tonnes of e-waste, but it is currently operating below its optimal. Notably though, Mbithi says, this is just one per cent of the e-waste produced in Kenya and lamenting that “the proliferation of e-waste in the country is a crisis”. He says that the lack of legislative policies that will bind companies, manufacturers and individual users to plan for the after-life of e-waste puts a damper on all efforts to combat this growing menace. Yet, the e-waste Bill of 2013 is still stuck in Parliament for over five years, which makes one wonder why the government isn’t quick to legislate policies to tackle this imminent health and environmental hazard.
Mbithi avers that the time to start mitigating the risk of e-waste is now because the sheer volumes of e-waste generated on year to year basis is astronomical. The health hazards to human life and the rest of the ecosystem is unfathomable. There is also the coming of faster internet speeds like 5G, rise of AI and IoT. Ironically, this comes at the backdrop of Earth Day on 22nd April, a day when people from world over mark to support environmental protection efforts in a bid to make sure Earth’s resources are sustainable to the current and future generations.
“What will happen when the Internet of Things produces grave magnitude of e-waste?” Mbithi poses. With the IoT, household items such as washing machines, mattresses, door lock, lighting, plant-waterers, cookers et cetera will communicate with each other electronically thus joining the bandwagon of e-waste after their planned obsolescence.
A shift from pollutant fuel
The drive to replace polluting petrol and diesel cars with electric vehicles is gaining momentum in Kenya. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates there will be 140 million electric cars globally by 2030 if countries meet Paris climate agreement targets. This electric vehicle boom could leave over 11 million tonnes of spent lithium-ion batteries in need of recycling between now and 2030. What on earth to do with these back-breaking heavy batteries when they wear out?
Power revolution is also here with us, with African nations investing millions of dollars in solar power devices. The high penetration rates could potentially increase the toxic waste. We should ask pertinent questions like; How will these products be discarded? Will recycling be enough? And will our earth be able to absorb and digest this volume of waste? Mbithi advises that big corporates should be on the forefront in finding ways to minimize e-waste by using recycled materials and making cradle-to-grave electronics.
Derrick Vikiru is the sub editor Management Magazine. Email: dvikiru@kim.ac.ke
