Qatar faces a growing problem of e-waste as its population rapidly adopts electronic devices without establishing proper infrastructure or legislation to deal with disposal. Each Qatari household averages five mobile phones, three laptops, and a desktop computer. Qatar generates a high amount of e-waste per capita compared to global averages. While some companies have take-back programs, most e-waste is improperly disposed of without means for formal collection, recycling, or safe disposal. Experts call for Qatar and other nations to develop responsible e-waste management systems to process materials in environmentally safe ways and prevent illegal dumping.

2. The Edge | 3736 | The Edge
Qatar’s vulnerability to environmental
damages due to growing e-waste is no
less than any other developed nation’s,
but it lacks local infrastructure and legal
framework to deal with this problem,
writes Syed Ameen Kader.
W
ith almost 100 percent of the population having access to computers and mobile
phones, Qatar is hooked on high-end devices and electronic gadgets. According to
a 2013 survey report by ictQATAR, the average Qatari household has five mobile
phones (nine mobile phones per Qatari-national household), more than three laptops and at
least one desktop computer. As the country’s growing population continues to expand its user
base of electronic products, it is no surprise that Qatar finds itself among the highest per capita
electronic or e-waste generating nations in the world. Not to forget, e-waste does not include
just information and communication technology (ICT) devices, but also other electricity and
battery-run products such as televisions, refrigerators, air-conditioners, etcetera – a segment
that also has a large consumer base in Qatar.
AccordingtoareportreleasedlastyearbyUnitedNationsUniversity(UNU),Qatar’sdomestic
e-waste generation per inhabitant was 16.3 kilograms (kg) against the global average of 5.9 kg
in 2014, although in absolute terms the amount was only 33 kilo tonnes, primarily due to the
country’s low population. The United States (7.1 million tonnes) and China (six million tonnes)
– which collectively discarded nearly one-third of the world’s 41.8 million metric tonnes of total
e-waste – are the biggest culprits of this. (See table, page 39)
Interestingly, unlike the matured economies such as the US or Europe whose domestic
consumption of ICT devices and electronic products has grown more steadily – something
that acted as a buffer period for these countries to develop their domestic industry and
infrastructure to deal with e-waste – Qatar’s has moved much faster. The Gulf state’s user base
of electronic devices has grown rapidly, and so has the per inhabitant e-waste generation. As a
result of this, Qatar today faces the danger of discarded electronic junk building up into a toxic
dump – something that poses huge health and environmental threats as well. Many developed
countries have legislation in place to address this issue; Qatar seems to have none. The country
had reportedly started drafting its first law for e-waste management in 2010, but no official
announcement has been made so far on this. In the absence of any specific laws or guidelines,
Qatar’s preparedness to deal with a growing e-waste problem is questionable. Moreover,
although some work is being done in the areas of solid and municipal waste management,
Qatar does not seem to have a robust e-waste management and recycling industry at present.
Certainly not one to handle the volume.
E-waste Ap ocalypse?
Analysing the effects of Qatar’s
electronic throw-away culture

3. The Edge | 3938 | The Edge
And this is a huge problem internationally.
Another report by the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) reveals that
up to 90 percent of the world’s electronic
waste, worth nearly USD19 billion (QAR69
billion),isillegallytradedordumpedeachyear.
“The recycling rates are among the
highestintheEU,butstillalotisunaccounted
for. Both illegal dumping, but also organised
crime are involved, as they are often paid to
E-wastedumping
Comparatively, large countries such as
the US and China also generate a massive
amount of e-waste every year, but they
collect and recycle a high proportion of
e-waste domestically. The US, for example,
is reported to have collected one million
tonnes of e-waste, although that amount
represents only 15 percent of what they had
generated in 2012. China, whose national
e-waste legislation manages the collection
and treatment of TVs, refrigerators, washing
machines, air conditioners and computers
(desktop and laptops), officially treated
around 1.3 million tonnes in 2013.
In Qatar, no statistics are available on
how much e-waste is collected or recycled
each year. Nor, for that matter, can anyone
say for sure what happens to the gadgets
and electronic devices that people discard
after use? It is hard to tell, but in the absence
of any legislation, one can assume much of it
is sent to developing-world facilities, where
often safety and environmental guidelines
are not followed.
Dr. Ruediger Kuehr, head, UNU – Vice
Rectorate in Europe, and the author of the
report on e-waste, says, “Qatar like most
countries of the Middle East are parties
of the Basel Convention, an international
regime controlling the trans-boundary
movements of hazardous waste and their
disposal. Since e-waste contains hazardous
substances, e-waste shipments are also
falling under the Basel Convention.”
get rid of hazardous wastes,” says Christian
Nellemann, head of Rapid Response
Assessment Unit at GRID-Arendal, a centre
collaborating with the UNEP. Nellemann
explains that the international conventions
are designed specifically to assist countries
and help prevent dumping of hazardous
wastes. “There are always options available
for countries who seriously want to deal with
toxic waste and may not have the chemical
facilities to deal with it. Nuclear material is
one good example,” he adds.
As per the Basel Convention, trading
of second hand equipment is legal only
if it is allowed by both sending and
receiving countries, but the dumping of
e-waste is prohibited.
Localinitiatives
Although people are not legally bound to
follow any specific rule on e-waste in Qatar,
many organisations and companies have
started taking some initiatives voluntarily.
Qatar’s national telecom operator Ooredoo,
for instance, in 2011, started an initiative
called ‘Big Drop Days’ by arranging a
special area to collect unwanted electronic
equipment for safe disposal and recycling.
The company had reportedly shipped more
than four tonnes of e-waste to Singapore for
recycling in that year.
Vodafone, on the other hand, had
launched a mobile phone trade-in service
in 2014, and it was able to send more than
2000 handsets for refurbishment through
its partner Hyla Mobile.
“Upto90
percent
oftheworld’s
electronicwaste,
worthnearly
USD19billion
(QAR69billion),
isillegallytraded
ordumpedeach
year.”
“Each
household
inQatar,onan
average,hasfive
mobilephones
(ninemobile
phonesper
Qatari-national
household),three
laptopsandat
leastonedesktop
computer.”
Dana Haidan, head of CSR and
Sustainability, Vodafone, says, “The
initiative encouraged Vodafone customers
to exchange their old handset with a
4G-enabled smartphone. Those handsets
were then refurbished by Hyla Mobile,
formerly known as eRecycling Corps, whose
job is to capture, extends and optimise
the life and value of used mobile phones.
They ensured 100 percent data security
for customers, by professionally wiping the
phones, before refurbishing or reselling.”
Globally, efforts are being made to
enhance the life span of electronic devices
by repairing or refurbishing them as there is
a huge market for such products. According
to technology research firm Gartner, the
market for refurbished phones – those
traded in through a carrier and overhauled
before being resold – will be 97 million
devices in 2016 globally.
Therefore, he adds, though Qatar, like most
other nations in the Middle East, does not yet
have a specific e-waste legislation in place,
the ratification of the Basel Convention
prohibits e-waste exports to developing
countries. “In consequence, so far, after
some first treatment of e-waste in Qatar,
the end-processing of the hazardous
components must take place in one of a
handful of industrial hubs around the world.
And such kinds of shipments are legal, but
very often hindered by national legislations,”
explains Kuehr.
TheUNUreportstatesthemainfeatureof
this scenario is that e-waste is traded freely,
and usually, its quantity is not systematically
documented or reported to framework or
requirements. In this scenario, e-waste is
often not treated in the state-of-the-art
facilities, and there is a potential that e-waste
is shipped off to developing countries.
Adds Kuehr, “Unscrupulous brokers are
still shipping e-waste categorised as re-
useable to developing countries, trying to
make money out of it, though the products
are junk or there is simply not market for
them,” And here again, he explains, the
(post-industrialised) nations can do better,
preventing these exports. “But the same
applies for the developing nations not
allowing these imports,” he adds.
“Unscrupulous brokers are still shipping e-waste
categorised as re-useable to developing countries,
trying to make money out of it, though the products
are junk or there is simply not market for them,” says
Dr. Ruediger Kuehr, head, United Nations University –
Vice Rectorate in Europe.
Dana Haidan, head of CSR and Sustainability,
Vodafone, says, “The initiative (phone trade-in)
encouraged Vodafone customers to exchange their
old handset with a 4G-enabled smartphone. Those
handsets were then refurbished by Hyla Mobile,
whose job is to capture, extend and optimise the life
and value of used mobile phones.”
In most developing countries, there is an enormous number of self-
employed people engaged in the collection and recycling of e-waste.
(Image Arabian Eye/Corbis)
Most environmental damage and health impacts related to e-waste arise from improper collection and
treatment approaches. (Image Arabian Eye/Corbis)
Domestic e-waste generated per country in 2014
Country Generation Kg/per
inhabitant
Collection/
TREATMENT
United States 7.1 mt 22.1 1 mt
China 6.0 mt 4.4 1.3 mt
Japan 2.2 mt 17.3 556 kt
Germany 1.8 mt 21.6 691 kt
India 1.7 mt 1.3 N/A
United Kingdom 1.5 mt 23.5 504 kt
Norway 146 kt 28.3 105 kt
Qatar 33 kt 16.3 N/A
UAE 101 kt 17.2 N/A
Saudi Arabia 379 kt 12.5 N/A
Source: United Nations University: The Global E-Waste Monitor 2014.
Million tonnes (mt), kilo tonnes (kt).
cover story | e-waste e-waste | cover story

4. The Edge | 4140 | The Edge
Biju Nair, CEO of the US-based Hyla
Mobile,whoclaimstohavehelpedoperators
reclaim over 36 billion devices globally,
says their programme with Vodafone
Qatar started more than two years ago,
when this practice was still maturing in the
Middle East market. “Industry data seems
to indicate that the Middle East market is
warming up to the concept of buy back
and trade in as a mechanism to retain
customers and being environmentally
friendly. In addition to this, Dubai is fast
becoming a hub for purchase of used
devices for refurbishing and redistribution
to the EMEA markets,” he explains.
process e-scrap?” argues Fleming.
With the volume of global e-waste
expected to rise by 21 percent to 50 million
metric tonnes in 2018, this poses a global
challenge. Ostensibly, improper and illegal
dumping of e-waste is prevalent in many
countries, irrespective of whether or not
national e-waste legislation exists.
In the absence of appropriate
infrastructure and technologies for treating
end-of-life electrical and electronic
equipment in each nation around the globe,
Kuehr emphasises, a coordinated effort
along the reverse supply chain is needed.
“This is also for not making some nations
the graveyard of equipment of others and
therefore a matter of environmental justice.
But on the other hand, the collection and
appropriate recycling of the majority of the
e-waste generated is essential for harvesting
resources which are rather limited on the
earth-crust, but essential for our production
chains,” concludes Kuehr.
“Industry
dataseems
toindicatethat
theMiddleEast
marketiswarming
uptotheconcept
ofbuyback
andtradeinas
amechanismto
retaincustomers
andbeing
environmentally
friendly.”–BijuNair,
CEO,HylaMobile.
“The recycling rates are amongst the highest in
the EU, but still a lot is unaccounted for. Both
illegal dumping, but also organised crime are
involved, as they are often paid to get rid of
hazardous wastes,” says Christian Nellemann,
head of Rapid Response Assessment Unit at GRID-
Arendal, a centre collaborating with the United
Nations Environment Programme.
12.8million tonnes –
Small equipment
4billion people
are covered by national
legislation.
6.5million tonnes
are collected by official
take-back systems.
USD52billion
The value of discarded
materials, including gold,
silver, iron and copper.
Total e-waste per category
Certainly, there is a big market for
used mobile phones and gadgets, and by
refurbishing them, industries can to some
extent reduce the amount of e-waste
dumped into landfills. According to Annette
Zimmermann, a research director at Gartner,
instead of the 13 to 15 million refurbished
iPhones coming to the market in 2016,
that number could now be 20 to 30
million refurbished iPhones, thanks to such
programmes. Nair says, “That’s still a small
number given Apple sold more than two
billion new iPhones since the release of the
6S model, but it should grow.”
But what happens to the devices that
cannot be repaired further? Nair says they
give those devices for recycling to their
partners who specialise in these. “They will
extract reusable parts from these devices
and the remaining parts are disposed of in
an environmentally friendly manner. Of the
phones we process, we see about five to
seven percent get recycled. Others can be
repurposed in various ways,” Nair explains.
Economicsense
Still, what is being extracted from these
defunct devices is minimal, despite its
highly reusable value. The UNU report
estimates that the e-waste discarded in
2014 contained some 16.5 million tonnes
of iron, 1.9 million tonnes of copper, and 300
tonnes of gold (equal to 11 percent of the
world’s total 2013 gold production) as well
as significant amounts of silver, aluminium,
palladium, and other potentially reusable
resources, with a combined estimated value
of USD52 billion (QAR189 billion).
Some estimates suggest the gold alone
was valued at USD11.2 billion (QAR41
billion), with the metal often used in
electronic devices.
But extracting valuable metals from such
devices is an expensive and specialised job
that not many countries have managed to
accomplish. Even the US, which has a vibrant
e-waste management industry, sends a lot
of this waste to countries such as Belgium
and Japan. These countries have better
technology and cleaner factories for the
extraction of precious metals from circuit
boards and other complicated instruments.
Regionalscenario
Qatar has a handful of waste management
companies working in this sector, and
most of them are primarily into collection
or transportation of e-waste. Besides the
41.8million tonnes
of e-waste was generated
in 2014.
1.0million tonnes
– Lamps
3.0million tonnes –
Small IT
6.3million tonnes –
Screens
7.0million tonnes
- Temperature
exchange
equipment
11.8million tonnes –
Large equipment
Source: United Nations University: The Global E-Waste Monitor 2014.
Worldwide disposal of e-waste in 2014
requirement of funding and advanced
technology, lack of proper legislation makes
it difficult to setup an e-waste recycling
plant here. In fact, there are not many
advanced recycling facilities operating in the
Middle East region. One such plant, which is
currently being developed by Enviroserve, is
expected to come online in Dubai next year.
Stuart Fleming, CEO, Enviroserve tells
The Edge, “We will open our USD25 million
investment plant with a capacity of 39,000
tonnes in Dubai, in 2017. To be called Gulf
Electro Recycling (GER), the plant will offer
services to ensure enviro-friendly recycling
of e-scrap for the region.” He claims it will be
the only such facility in the Middle East.
Howlucrativeisthee-wastemanagement
market in Qatar? Fleming points out that one
needs to differentiate between the actual
scrap and what is known as the remarketing
sector – in used electronics. “It’s a volume
business. Qatar population and critical mass
is something to consider for anyone investing
the type of funds one needs to manage it
correctly,” he says, referring to the recycling
side of the business; not trading. “Anyone can
trade. If a client is looking for high values from
their scrap, they have to forfeit data security
and brand protection because they go for
trade. But one has to be very careful who you
trade with,” he adds.
Companies working in this sector say
logistics can very quickly reduce any margin
on e-scrap. “Generally, e-scrap doesn’t cost
a whole lot to the end-user but at the same
time, it’s not a pot of gold,” explains Fleming.
Although at a slow pace, the regional
countries are moving forward to develop
an ecosystem that can deal with mounting
e-waste. “I think it is a conundrum for the
authorities right now and moves will be
made once, for example, GER is up and
running in which case, a genuine regulation
can be put into place that provides the
solution. For example, what would a country
legislate if there is nowhere to formally
cover story | e-waste e-waste | cover story
The escalating global e-waste problem is
driven by the rising sales and shortening life
cycles of electrical and electronic equipment.
(Image Arabian Eye/Corbis )