Kenya: Govt Challenged to Act on e-Waste

By Henry Neondo

Nairobi, Kenya---The Government of Kenya has been asked to take the necessary steps to provide appropriate economic incentives to catalyse further investment in recycling and final disposal facilities of computer and other information and communication technology gadgets.

The expers said at a recent conference on e-waste that the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources needs to develop a legal framework (based on e-waste policy) for e- waste and undertake comprehensive resource mobilization in cooperation with development partners.

The conference participants said service providers, manufacturers, dealers, assemblers, distributors and importers should be encouraged to establish procedures (e.g. collection centres and storage facilities) for the voluntary take-back of electrical and electronic equipment.

Mark Mutunga, regional education manager, Microsoft East and Southern Africa suggested that companies making computer donations ship the same back to their countries for safe disposal at the end of their life span.

Kenya has regulations (under Basel) on illegal trans-boundary movement of hazardous waste. Challenge is enforcement due to capacity. End of life equipment in the country are poorly managed. The country is a recipient of donations of computers which Computer for Schools refurbishes

Kenya has about 30,000 schools, 70,000 educational institutions. Only about 3000 schools have computers today.

The government has also set aside Ksh1.7 billion to fund the acquisition of computers in schools. This translates to about 300 computers per constituency, over 60,000 nationally.

There are over 30million telephone handsets nationally. Also handsets from China have flooded the market, with very short life spans. The Tachers Service Commission (TSC), in colaboration with Microsoft, HP and  Safaricom recently launched laptops for teachers. This means more e-waste in the future.

Fifty per cent of Kenya’s computers are second hand, with a life span of about  3 years.Yet the country lacks adequate recycling infrastructure which leads to loss of precious metals found in electronic waste.

According to Ali Mohamed, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, 11,000 tones of e-waste is generated in Kenya annually, although the fraction of what is recycled is not clear.

The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) in cooperation with all the relevant stakeholders is encouraged to undertake a comprehensive national baseline assessment of e-waste in Kenya within a year to determine the extent of the problem.

Dr Bitange Ndemo, Information and Communications Permanent Secretary said in the next 3-4 years, the amount of e-waste is going to increase due to the switch from analogue to digital TV. change from analog TV. “Changing technology in ICT means more e-waste”, said Dr Ndemo.

This he said means that there has to be proper regulations. He said the country needs to progressively reduce importation of appliances with shorter life spans. He noted that current disposal mechanism in Government through procurement poses a challenge in proper disposal.

Ndemo said although ICT Policy was now common in East Africa, it only addresses taking in e-waste generated locally. Yet, he noted, much of e-waste from Europe finds its way to Africa due to weak laws.

The private sector has however started to consider helping with the management of the e-waste. Managing Director, HP East Africa, Ken Mbwaya said e-waste impacts negatively on the environment and health if not properly managed.

In Africa, said Mbwaya, e-waste is mostly treated by the informal sector in unsafe conditions and only South Africa and Nigeria are drafting e-waste regulations.

Yet he noted, e-waste can be turned into opportunities if looked at as a resource. He said that although educating the people is important, governments however must have regulations.

Elizabeth Tanguy – Sustainability Manager, MEA, Nokiasaid the companyoperates the largest voluntary take back schemes in the world with over 5000 collection points globally. Take back and recycling is just one part of what NOKIA does in terms of environmental responsibility.

Kenya was first sub-Saharan country to have a NOKIA take back point and the firm has  six take back points in Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa.

Globally, NOKIA works with eight companies across the world for recycling. This was necessitated by the fact that 4 per cent of people who buy phones throw away their phones and only 3 per cent recycle their phones, while 44 per cent keep their old phones at home.

HP is currently partnering with CAMARA, a volunteer organisation that uses technology to improve education in Africa to establish an East Africa Recycling Company (as a viable self sustaining business) in Mombasa. The partnership targets to capture at least 20 per cent of e-waste in Kenya.