Gov’t moves to manage e-Waste

Various government entities are working tirelessly to develop a policy on the management of electronic waste. Currently, there is no policy or measures of how e-Waste is controlled. Fast-growing surplus of electronic waste around the globe has become a concern as countries struggle to seek ways to discard obsolete electronics. They include discarded computers, office electronic equipment, entertainment electronic equipment, mobile phones and other home appliances like television sets and refrigerators, among others. Speaking to The New Times, yesterday, the Director of Environmental Regulation and Pollution at the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), Norbert Duhuze, said e-Waste has diverse effects on humans and environment that needs to be contained. “Most of these electronics contain hazardous components that can be very dangerous and pollute underground water if they are not disposed of properly,” observed Duhuze.“We may not be in a position to immediately have a factory that can manage e-Waste, but we will have some infrastructure in place to deal with the issue”.On where the waste was being disposed presently, Duhuze said that there is no specific place meant for that although the Ministry of Infrastructure has a store where all outdated electronic equipment from government entities is stored. The Minister in the President’s Office in Charge of ICT, Dr. Ignace Gatare, confirmed to The New Times, that indeed, his office has set up a team of experts to come up with a clear draft policy on e-Waste management. In a separate interview with this newspaper, Anita Batamuliza, who heads the ICT applications office in charge of e-Waste at Rwanda Utility Regulation Authority (RURA), noted that a team of experts from RURA, REMA, Rwanda Bureau of Standards (RBS), RDB-IT, and the Ministry of ICT, was set up to draft the e-Waste management policy. “We drafted the policy, later a consultant was hired to carry out a review, but the work done by the consultant wasn’t up to standard. So the minister recalled the technical team and asked them to make a final review of the policy. We are now going on a retreat to work on this policy,” explained Batamuliza. Part of the conditions RURA has put in place to control the flow of secondhand electronics is to bar importation of equipment older than four years.The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture and Youth, Agnes Mukazibera, revealed that in the ICT bill, currently in Parliament, has an article concerning e-Waste management, adding that they have requested the minister to come and expound further on the article. The National University of Rwanda (NUR) is one of the local institutions greatly affected by the matter.“The problem of e-Waste disposal needs to be addressed seriously and with utmost sincerity. We don’t have the expertise, but we are working with our partners to find a solution. In the meantime, we have sent one of our staff to Sweden to train in e-Waste management,” said the Rector, Prof. Silas Lwakabamba. “The university has decided not to dump the old electronics and we are working with REMA to find solutions”. According to experts, the need for proper disposal arises from the fact that electronic items are not bio-degradable. Most of the items contain heavy metals like carbon-zinc, silver oxide, lithium batteries, nickel-cadmium, zinc batteries and nickel-metal hydride and so forth. The most common practices adopted for disposal of e-waste are acid baths, land filling and open air burning. When electronic equipment is burnt, it releases dangerous fumes hazardous to the environment way beyond our imagination and estimation.