Policy prescriptions for ending e-waste - Anja ffrench, Computer Aid International

Policy prescriptions for ending e-waste
Anja ffrench
Director of Marketing and Communications
Computer Aid International
www.e-society.mk

Some e-waste statistics
20 billion items of electronic and electrical equipment (EEE) are in use globally
Globally 50 million tonnes of e-waste generated each year (UNEP)
In 2009, just 13% of the 50 million tonnes produced e-waste was recycled.
200 million computers and 500 million mobile phones reached their end of life in 2008 alone (UN)
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The industry of electronics
Short lifecycles and rapid obsolescence resulting in waste being generated at a rapid rate, much of which ends up in a landfill.
Poor design of equipment means upgrading is often difficult and costly making simply replacing working equipment a more viable option.
E-waste is one of the greatest challenges facing the electronics industry due to its impacts on the environment and human health as well as the sheer scale of the problem.
The need to reduce, reuse and recycle is becoming an ever more apparent issue.
www.e-society.mk

E-waste - valuable and toxic
E-waste contains gold, silver and
platinum – for example more gold can be
recovered from one tonne of end-of-life PCs than from 17 tonnes of gold ore
E-waste also contains lead,
mercury and arsenic, making it 'toxic' waste
If not treated properly it can been extremely
dangerous to both human health and the
Environment
Image ©[2006] Basel Action Network (BAN)
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What can be done about e-waste
We can all help to put an end to e-waste
The solutions need to be delivered by society as a whole – including and especially producers, consumers and governments
Consumers
Buy less and buy green – avoid replacing functional equipment simply to have the latest model. When a new device is needed, buy from greener manufacturers
Give back – goods to electronics producers for safe and environmentally friendly reuse and recycling
www.e-society.mk

What producers must do
Producers
Producers must take responsibility for their products over their whole lifecycle, so they can design better products that last longer and that don't cause hazards at end-of-life. They must:
Make cleaner products – use fewer toxics and materials overall; use more reused components and recycled content
Make longer-lasting products – make repair, upgrade and reuse (and eventual end-of-life recycling) simpler
Take back their products for reuse and safe recycling
www.e-society.mk

What governments must do
Governments have a big role to play:
need to develop policies and laws that regulate behaviour and encourage best practice in electronics design, manufacture and use and e-waste management.
Ban the import and export of e-waste
Ban landfill and other dumping of e-waste
Prioritise reuse over recycling for functional equipment
Compel e-waste recycling
Enact producer responsibility to fund e-waste management and promote ecodesign
Enforce it – monitor actors, punish criminal activity
www.e-society.mk

Ban the import and export of e-waste
As e-waste is toxic, it needs careful treatment. Governments need to put bans bans in place on the import and export of e-waste to protect communities and the environment
As e-waste has many valuable resources within it, exporting it means a loss of those resources to the recycling industry in the country of export
Each country should sign up to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal
Countries with a ban in place on the export of e-waste will need to ensure that they build and sustain domestic capacity to deal with their own e-waste
www.e-society.mk

Ban landfill and other dumping of e-waste
Governments must not let e-waste go to the landfill. Functional equipment should be reused; all e-waste should be recycled.
Sending e-waste to landfill pollutes the soil, water and air
Valuable resources are lost
www.e-society.mk

Prioritise reuse over recycling for functional equipment
It is more environmentally beneficial to reuse rather then recycle
ICTs are energy and materially intensive to produce, and contain substances that are hazardous, valuable or both. Reusing IT makes resource and environmental sense.
Reusing working computers is up to 20 times more energy efficient than recycling them. Also, reuse lowers ICT resource depletion costs far more than recycling. Thus, the waste hierarchy equally applies to unwanted ICTs as other wastes.
Refurbished electronic products are usually less expensive than new ones, thus reuse can enable access to technology for those that would otherwise be unable to afford it.
www.e-society.mk

Compel e-waste recycling
E-waste once it reaches it true end-of-life must be sent to legitimate, licensed operators
Recycling, using appropriate handling techniques, can help avoid hazardous emissions whilst recovering valuable materials, and may reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with production of new equipment and mining
Recycling all e-waste within your own country helps the recycling industry and creates more employment
www.e-society.mk

Enact producer responsibility to fund e-waste management and promote ecodesign
An e-waste system must be free and convenient for consumers to use
Producers must be individually responsible for the full end-of-life costs of their goods to incentivise ecodesign and develop domestic recycling markets.
Hazardous substances bans need to be in place, to make electronics manufacturers reduce and eventually eliminate the use of toxics in electronics
Ambitious collection and recovery targets, to keep e-waste out of landfill and to incentivise the development of a convenient and effective e-waste management system
www.e-society.mk

Enforce it – monitor actors, punish criminal activity
Public education and communication is needed, to ensure all actors know their role and responsibilities and to encourage high participation, compliance and best practice.
Government will then need to ensure that they have enough resources to effectively monitor and police the system
There needs to be strong penalties in place for those that break the law
www.e-society.mk

Any questions?
[email_address]
www.computeraid.org
www.e-society.mk

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Policy prescriptions for ending e-waste - Anja ffrench, Computer Aid International

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Policy prescriptions for ending e-waste - Anja ffrench, Computer Aid International — Presentation Transcript