Although right now the Middle East has no comprehensive legislation or rules governing e-waste management, the region is waking up to the challenge and has started doing its bit to manage e-waste more effectively. And the good news is that even the private sector here is coming on board.
Habiba Al Marashi, Chairperson, Emirates Environmental Group (EEG), told Emirates Business: "The country is beginning to address the e-waste challenge by focusing on different types of e-waste such as cellular phones, used batteries and old computers. The private sector is taking a lead role in this regard by initiating take-back programmes for certain electronic devices as part of their corporate social responsibility. This has been the practice in other countries and the feasibility of adopting a similar system is being studied by different entities."
Just recently, Canon Middle East signed a partnership agreement with EnviroServe, environmental waste managers in the UAE, to ensure the proper destruction and recycling of 'end of life' Canon consumer electronic products and service parts across the region through the company's extensive network of Channel partners.
As part of this agreement, EnviroServe's e-waste recycling division 'EnviroFone' will facilitate the collection of 'end of life' electronic products and service parts before segregating the material into the different components and sending them to recyclers where they will be melted, crushed and treated into raw materials for reuse.
Mariam Hanafy, Division Manager, EnviroFone, told Emirates Business: "Developed countries have legislation, regulations and general municipal rules in place to control e-waste and ensure that consumers and manufacturers alike take up the responsibility of recycling their e-waste. The fundamental principle behind e-waste recycling, or any kind of recycling for that matter, is segregation and destruction of the waste until it is possible to recover raw materials for re-processing.
"However, there is no e-waste recycling technology as such in the UAE or in any part of the Arab World, this is why EnviroFone facilitates the recycling process by collecting e-waste from across the Middle East. It then segregates this e-waste manually and sends the more complicated recyclable elements, such as cartridges, batteries, motherboards and data cables, to certified recycling facilities in Europe.
"However, they are working towards a more responsible e-waste management system as recently the UAE Cabinet passed a law regarding the recycling of mobile phones. But other than that there is no e-waste management system as such in place. Only EnviroFone collects and recycles e-waste in the GCC, and our operations depend entirely on the support and endorsement of both the public and private sector. Dubai Municipality runs an e-waste collection operation with an aim to collect, refurbish and redistribute second hand computers. EEG and several other small techie businesses collect cartridges for reuse as well."
Going into how e-waste can be managed better in the UAE, Mariam Hanafy said: "One thing we would really like all companies and individuals to do is to start segregating their waste. It is a fundamental step towards a healthier environment, as the only way a waste can be recycled is by first separating it from other wastes. There is no organisation or company that goes through our rubbish and separates recyclable paper, plastic, glass or metals. We as individuals have to be responsible for this separation process as and when we dispose of items in our daily lives. Separating e-waste from the rest of your waste will greatly enhance the chances of us being able to collect this e-waste and recycle it, rather than it going to a landfill."
There is an urgent need to manage e-waste more responsibly as a recent report by Pike Research, a firm that analyses global clean technology trends, said that the global volume of e-waste would reach 73 million metric tonnes by 2015 as more and more used TVs, fridges, microwaves, printer toners and cartridges, mobile phones and computers are dumped by consumers without any thought of recycling them.
According to the report Electronics Recycling and E-waste Issues, the e-waste problem will worsen over the next several years until 2015, when volume will peak at 73 million metric tonnes.
The report said: "The consumer electronics revolution of recent years, for all its benefits, has also yielded an environmental blight in the form of e-waste - obsolete electronics equipment whose toxic materials and sheer volume are placing a strain upon solid waste management systems worldwide. There are two attributes of e-waste that define its management issues around the world. The first is the number and variety of toxic materials present in the enclosures and components of electrical and electronic equipment. The second is the value and volume of reclaimable materials [metals, plastics and glass] available for use in new products, which reduces the quantity of virgin, non-renewable, raw materials mined to keep up with the ever-increasing consumer demand.
"The e-waste process has many key players with multiple interactions. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), consumers, e-waste management companies, logistics companies, non-government/non-profit organisations and government agencies all play a role in the e-waste segment. E-waste is the fastest-growing segment of municipal solid waste. It accounts for between three per cent and five per cent of incoming materials."
The report noted: "E-waste management's two primary processes are refurbish and reuse and resale and recycling. However, approximately 75 per cent to 85 per cent of electrical and electronic equipment at the end of their first useful life are sent directly to a landfill burial or incineration. Another 10 per cent is stored, passed down or donated to charity and an optimistic estimate of up to 15 per cent is diverted for reuse and recycling."
However, the firm forecasts global volumes will decline in 2016 and beyond, as a number of key e-waste initiatives begin to turn the tide. The prediction is based on the firm's premise that companies and governments worldwide will continue and expand current recycling programmes and initiatives now that public awareness of the effects of e-waste dumping has been brought to light.
The report said: "Government intervention has created a framework for e-waste management that is now being replicated - with numerous modifications - around the world. Such intervention has taken shape in the form of laws and regulations, beginning with the European Union's waste electrical and electronic equipment (Weee) directive and subsequent amendment banning the export of Weee to non-OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. In addition, the reduction of hazardous substances (RoHS) directive, implemented first in the EU during 2003, is influencing the design processes of OEMs. RoHS has become the de facto standard to encourage the removal of toxic materials from electrical and electronic equipment.
"Many of the large OEMs are taking credit for their efforts to reduce the number and quantity of toxic materials, which they balance with the needs of the customer for price, performance and reliability."
Clint Wheelock, Managing Director, Pike Research, said: "Key weapons in the war against e-waste include government regulation, electronics industry initiatives and consumer awareness. On the positive side, the European Union has established a strong regulatory framework with its Weee and RoHS directives, serving as an example for similar initiatives worldwide."
The report found that the efforts of non-profit groups and the media to expose the effects of e-waste dumping have influenced original equipment manufacturers and recyclers worldwide to make an effort to clean up their act.
Wheelock said: "Many leading electronics manufacturers and service providers are also strong exemplars of what corporate social responsibility can achieve. In Pike Research's analysis, this list of leading companies includes Cisco, Dell, HP, Motorola, Nokia, Research In Motion, Sprint Nextel and Vodafone."
The report blamed low consumer effort to recycle old stuff as part of the problem, as well the dumping of e-waste in developing countries. Wheelock said: "It's too easy and relatively inexpensive to simply throw electronics away, though we are seeing improvements in popular awareness. In addition, there is no international coordination on e-waste regulation and, as a result the electronics recycling supply chain is full of holes and open to widespread abuse."
According to the report: "The world population is approaching seven billion people and growing by about 80 million people per year. The superhighways of commerce in the industrialised countries are now filled with the consumer goods of a global economy. However, solid waste management in many of the developing countries today is at a point where the industrialised countries were a hundred years ago."
Hurdles in E-waste management
Government regulation, to date, has been uncoordinated at the national and regional level with too much freedom to individual government entities
Different compliance requirements from country to country and state to state add unnecessary costs
The issue of traditional disposal by landfill has not been addressed
Consumers are not provided effective incentives to reuse or recycle
Too many groups with good intentions are working on fixing the e-waste problem
E-waste management companies are not certified or audited by third parties to ensure that their processes are in compliance with standards and appropriate
There are insufficient resources or political will to enforce government and treaty requirements, including financial and legal penalties for non-compliance
Insufficient capital investments in processing equipment and training in both industrialised and developing countries
Secondary markets for recovered materials or feedstock for primary markets significantly exceeds the demand for raw materials in manufacturing processes
Commodities prices decline below the price point for e-waste management companies to make a profit
Generators and exporters have too many methods or ways to circumvent the intent of control regulations, which undermines the integrity of the processes
What needs to be done for proper E-waste management
Implement an international system to report, quantify, and control the movement and disposition of e-waste
Make landfill disposal of e-waste unacceptable or significantly more expensive than actual reuse and/or recycle costs and make it more difficult requiring separation from other trash
Utilise the framework of an existing international organisation to mandate the implementation of the fundamental and minimum global requirements for e-waste management
Cooperate, communicate, and enforce e-waste management requirements across political boundaries and geographical regions
Create an e-waste export fee, based on the tons shipped to each non-OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) country, that is earmarked as capital (money) for investment in infrastructure, equipment, and environmental controls necessary to process e-waste appropriately
By Reena Amos Dyes
© Emirates Business 24/7 2009
