By It is no doubt by now that e-waste has ballooned the country especially in major cities like Nairobi and at a terrifying rate. And as much as it not emphasised, e-waste is quite dangerous to the environment when disposed of recklessly. This is because it mostly consists of plastic, metal, rubber and toxic chemicals that are non-biodegradable.
In 2016, the world produced 47 million metric tonnes of e-waste. Africa alone generated 2.2 million tonnes of waste and of which only 1% of it was recycled. And with the growth of the tech industry in Kenya, the number could only get worse. Luckily, a couple of firms including Safaricom have been making efforts to promote the culture of recycling e-waste by collecting old smartphones.
Similarly, there are already a number of recycling centres that deal in e-waste by collecting, separating and exporting to for processing. So, here are some that you would want to know in case you have unwanted electronics around.
Start off your week with tech news recap and trending conversations in your inbox
- WEEE Centre, one of the first registered e-waste recyclers in the country located at Umoja Area, Nairobi
- East African Compliance Recycling Centre located at Athi River, Mombasa Road.
- Eastleigh e-Waste Collection Centre, Eastleigh, Nairobi
- Enviroserve Kenya Limited located off Mombasa Road.
- EcoPost located along Baba Dogo Rd., Nairobi.
- Taka Taka Solutions, whose head office is located along Laikipia Road, Nairobi.
Some challenges faced include:
- Lack of guiding policy and strategy
- Inadequate capacity
- Inadequate skills and resources
- Lack of citizen awareness
- Poor methods of waste management
Consequences Of Poor E-Waste Handling
- Air pollution when electronic waste is burned.
- Toxic radiation released degrades the environment.
- Blockage of water runoff channels.
- Ozone layer depletion leading to unpredictable weather conditions.
- Lead and Mercury poisoning.
Comments