Katy Fentress, Nairobi Community Manager
The fact that developed countries have been using Africa as a dumping ground for electronic waste is an old story. Under the guise of “charitable donations,” tons of e-products of dubious worth — refrigerators, washing machines, computers, cellular phones, TVs (the list goes on) — are disposed of on the continent every year.
Kenya is no exception to this trend: it is estimated that every day the port of Mombasa receives thousands of electronic devices. These subsequently get sold on to businesses and other institutions, but their shelf life is approaching its end and most of this equipment lives out its final years in the country and is subsequently not adequately disposed of.
A 2012 study conducted at Kenyatta University, in Nairobi, established that once different institutions have finished using the equipment they are sold off on the informal market. In this way the electronic components trickle down the chain until they are eventually dismantled and find their way to city roadside markets or are discarded or burned as cheaply as possible. This inefficient system for discarding the waste causes a significant environmental impact due to the substances that leak out and pollute water supplies, the air, and the surrounding soil.
While the government of Kenya increasingly recognises the importance of tackling the e-waste problem, so far it has been ill-prepared to face the challenge. As a result, private companies have begun to step up and propose their own solutions.
Since 2009, the technology giant Hewlett-Packard has been operating an e-waste recycling plant in Mombasa. Initially the only facility in East Africa to dismantle, separate, and recycle e-waste components, the company has since 2012 opened a branch in Nairobi as well. One of the consequences of establishing this recycling plant has been the recognition that there are significant financial benefits to be accrued from the recycling of e-waste.
Hot on the heels of HP, a more recent initiative has seen a consortium of different companies collaborate to create a sustainable and ongoing e-waste recycling system in Nairobi. Going by the name of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEE), the company aims to dismantle ICT hardware and recycle it in an environmentally friendly way. Furthermore, the company encourages ICT users and resellers to dispose of products with them in order to raise awareness about the importance of appropriate ICT recycling.
Working in close collaboration with the National Environmental Authority, WEE have successfully created a series of different sustainable approaches to electronic waste management. Of these, one that has received a lot of attention is a scheme made in collaboration with Kenya’s telecommunications provider Safaricom. The initiative involves a caravan that for five weeks makes the rounds of Nairobi’s many street and informal markets, in order to collect electronic waste and exchange it for branded items and other promotional materials.
“I heard about the caravan coming to Gikomba market,” says Jessica Nyawira, a lady who lives in the neighborhood. “I myself did not have anything to bring to them, but I think this is good, because when market traders burn plastic it gives me bad headaches in the evening.”
The aim of the initiative is to collect 50 tons of waste over the month of July. It remains to be seen if the caravan will make a significant overall impact, but it should help to raise awareness of the importance of recycling e-waste in a city that has pledged to make the recycling of different refuse streams its main priority for 2013.