It’s obvious that more and more organizations are in need of a technology e-waste disposal company that ethically and responsibly recycles their e-waste. This applies to individual users too.
E-waste definition: E-waste refers to electronic products that are unwanted, not working, and nearing or at the end of their “useful life.”
Great Lakes Electronics Corporation defines E-waste as “any electrical or electronic equipment that’s been discarded. This includes working and broken items that are thrown in the garbage or donated to a charity reseller like Goodwill. Often, if the item goes unsold in the store, it will be thrown away. E-waste is particularly dangerous due to toxic chemicals that naturally leach from the metals inside when buried”
Common sources of e-waste include televisions, computers, mobile phones, charging pads, electronic devices, and any type of home appliance, from air conditioners to children’s toys. The greatest challenges in management of e-waste include; low user awareness, lack of proper policy and legislative framework including public procurement and disposal laws, inadequate infrastructure for e-waste management, high costs charged by available e-waste companies, absence of frameworks for End-of-Life product take-back and implementation of extended producer responsibility.
The production and use of electrical and electronic equipment continues to grow in both developing and developed countries.
The ICT industry in Kenya is growing at a very fast rate leading to radical increase in e-waste. You will at some point need a technology asset disposal or recycle for your domestic/business technology assets to avoid your data/information being compromised and in the best interest of the environment and your organization.
In 2019, research showed that 50 million tons of e-waste is dumped into landfills worldwide every year. That’s a huge number, but it only represented 2% of what is dumped each year. That two percent of e-waste, however, made up 70 percent of the toxic waste in landfills.
If I may ask, how many electronic devices do you have in your house or your organization? When you think of replacing your smart devices, or electronics, what comes to your mind? Do you gift them to your friends, and what do your friends do with them afterwards?, do you trade them in?, do you turn them into your children’s toys, and what happens afterwards?, do you recycle them? do you resell them? do they end up in the dust-bin? or do you donate them?
In terms of data protection, what happens to the data that was on the device? Perhaps you format the device prior to selling, donating, trading in, or giving it out? Do you delete it? Do you reset the device? Do you degause the hard drives? Do you sanitize the drive/device?, You burn the device? or you have no idea?
How then should we dispose our e-waste ethically and responsibly?
According to Prof. Omwenga Elijah I. PhD. (Computer Science). University of Nairobi, Kenya imports most of its ICT products from Britain, USA, China and Malaysia and old products are discouraged. However, there is a considerable amount of old or refurbished products that are brought in through NGOs as donations to schools, Foundations and other government institutions.
- The disposal of technology assets is still a challenge however, we need to sensitize the public on how best following the approved guidelines of handling e-waste.
- Sensitize garbage collection individuals and companies to follow guidelines of disposing off e-waste
- In relation to Data privacy and protection, devices should be accorded appropriate security measures due to the sensitivity of personal data they hold while exposing them off.
- Retiring technology assets shouldn’t mean risking an environmental breach. Stay up-to-date on laws and regulations regarding environmental responsibility.
- Follow the e-waste management guidelines when disposing off e-waste.
- Develop and support industry best practices in compliance with recycling and reporting on your obsolete technology assets to track what happens to your recycled technology from start to finish.
- Governments should establish e-waste disposal centers in every district or county.
- Outsource this responsibility to a certified/ licensed service provider specializing in e-waste recycling and destruction services and ensure they provide you with a Certificate of Electronic Equipment Destruction that includes serial number, type, date, and our downstream recycle partner.
- Engage domestic recycling partners who utilize the most eco-friendly processes and who are accountable.
- In relationship to ESG and conservation of the environment, I feel happy when I see email signatures for some institutions that caution the recipient in the email signature. Here it goes “Please consider the environment prior to printing this email. This is a great move towards ensuring conservation of our environment (ESG) and protecting unintended disclosure sensitive information (in hard copy).
- According to Popular Science, when electronics start to break down, they release the metals and chemicals inside them, including lead, which has been linked to a myriad of health issues. Therefore, to effectively deal with the issue of e-waste due to its hazardous nature, adequate measures should be taken to effectively manage or mitigate the effects of e-waste explosion in our environment. This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to venture into the e-waste management business, this will not only generate revenue but also conserve our environment.
Last thoughts
Most countries have the National Environment Management Authorities commonly abbreviated as NEMA. In Kenya, if you need guidelines on how to dispose off your e-waste, find the e-waste guidelines here
As a responsible citizen, and netizen, It is important to know your e-waste destination #recycle #protecttheenvironment #esg
I originally published this article here https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/where-does-your-e-waste-end-up-veronica-rose-cisa/?trackingId=QfU1k8LTQpuFvRbjJu%2BSxA%3D%3D
